SCOTLAND

Departmental Art Works

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which works of art from the Government Art Collection each Minister in his Department has selected for display in a private office.

Ann McKechin: The Secretary of State has not selected any works of art from the Government Art Collection for display in his private office. I have selected 10 prints of modern sketches by Christine Borland, an artist from Glasgow.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press officers the Wright Inquiry employs; how many press releases the Inquiry has published, broken down by month; and what the budget for the press office is in 2009.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Billy Wright Inquiry that the Inquiry does not employ a press officer. Media inquiries and media relations are handled as part of the duties of other Inquiry staff.
	The Inquiry has issued 18 press notices, as follows:
	
		
			  Press notices issued 
			   Number 
			 May 2005 1 
			 June 2005 1 
			 November 2005 1 
			 April 2006 1 
			 June 2006 1 
			 August 2006 1 
			 October 2006 4 
			 November 2006 1 
			 February 1 
			 May 2007 1 
			 August 2007 2 
			 October 2007 1 
			 December 2007 1 
			 June 2008 1 
		
	
	The Billy Wright Inquiry does not have a budget for a press office in 2009.

Billy Wright Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Wright Inquiry has employed since its inception, broken down by  (a) month and  (b) role.

Shaun Woodward: From October 2004, there has been one civil servant working as solicitor to the Inquiry.
	The following staff changes have occurred:
	In February 2005, a secretary to the Inquiry was recruited
	In April 2005, a deputy solicitor to the Inquiry was recruited
	In June 2005, an assistant solicitor was recruited
	In July 2006, the assistant solicitor was released
	In November 2006, a document evidence manager and a finance accommodation officer were recruited
	In April 2007, two personal secretaries were recruited
	In May 2007, a witness liaison manager was recruited
	In November 2007, an assistant solicitor was recruited.

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press officers the Saville Inquiry employs; how many press releases the inquiry has published, broken down by month; and what the budget for the press office is in 2009.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Bloody Sunday Inquiry that the Inquiry does not currently employ a press officer and there is no dedicated budget for press office facilities. Since November 2004, all press enquiries have been handled by the Secretary and Deputy Secretary to the Inquiry. An average total on-call allowance of £400 per month is paid to cover out-of-hours press inquiries.
	The Inquiry has released 196 press notices to date:
	
		
			   1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 January — — — 3 5 4 6 1 
			 February — 1 1 4 6 4 3 — 
			 March — — 1 5 5 4 1 — 
			 April — 2 — 1 2 4 1 — 
			 May  1 — 5 5 9 — — 
			 June 1 4 1 4 2 4 3 — 
			 July 1 3 — — — 5 — — 
			 August — — 1 2 2 — 1 1 
			 September — 1 1 4 6 5 — — 
			 October 1 1 2 4 6 11 1 — 
			 November 2 — 4 3 4 4 3 — 
			 December 3 — 1 3 3 3 1 — 
			 Total 8 13 12 38 46 57 20 2

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Saville Inquiry has employed since its inception, broken down by  (a) month and  (b) role.

Shaun Woodward: The Bloody Sunday Inquiry does not directly employ staff. The inquiry has engaged a number of people on loan or secondment from Government Departments/agencies to undertake specific posts and roles. A number of other people have been issued with Northern Ireland Office fixed-term contracts to work with the inquiry. Given the duration of the inquiry, detailed monthly breakdowns could not be obtained without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Over its lifespan, the number of staff in the inquiry peaked at 38 during hearings in April 2003. Posts included the secretary and deputy secretary to the inquiry, five inquiry solicitors, one costs solicitor, one assistant solicitor, one press officer, one assistant press officer, three legal assistants, two researchers, six witness liaison, one finance assistant, one archivist, two personal assistants and 12 administrative support staff.
	The inquiry has since reduced its complement to eight staff, including the secretary to the inquiry (part-time), costs solicitor (and acting inquiry solicitor), deputy secretary, finance assistant, personal assistant to the chairman, legal assistant to the tribunal, archivist and an administrative officer.
	The inquiry also holds contracts with employment agencies for the provision of temporary staff for administration services. These have not been included in this response, as their employer is the temporary staff agency.

Economic Situation

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with EU officials on the current economic climate.

Shaun Woodward: I have held no such discussions recently.
	The Government have put in place a raft of targeted and co-ordinated measures to underpin the financial sector, stimulate growth, increase employment and provide real help now. Northern Ireland will benefit from many of these measures and I will continue to represent the interests of Northern Ireland at the National Economic Council and consult with Northern Ireland Ministers to establish how we can best work together for the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy.

Economic Situation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of the economic situation in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Shaun Woodward: Economic policies are partly reserved and partly devolved. It is the Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland who monitors, and regularly comments on, the state of the Northern Ireland economy within the devolved field.
	Her Department published its latest Quarterly Economy Review on 6 February 2009. It indicated that Northern Ireland, in common with other UK regions, is facing very significant economic pressures and will not be sheltered from the impacts of the downturn. The review revealed that 2009 will see continuing falls in output and employment in the region. The Minister also highlighted that the structure of the economy—with its large public sector and small financial services sector—should help ensure that Northern Ireland is, broadly speaking, no worse affected than other UK regions.
	I concur with this assessment. The Government have put in place a raft of targeted and co-ordinated measures to underpin the financial sector, stimulate growth, increase employment and provide real help now. Northern Ireland will benefit from many of these measures and I will continue to represent the interests of Northern Ireland at the National Economic Council and consult with Northern Ireland Ministers to establish how we can best work together for the benefit of the Northern Ireland economy.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press officers the Hamill Inquiry employs; how many press releases the inquiry has published, broken down by month; and what the budget is for the press office in 2009.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Robert Hamill Inquiry that the inquiry does not employ a press officer. It retains the services of a public relations consultancy, which provides the full range of press office support, including duties such as handling day-to-day media enquiries, out-of-hours media enquiries, monitoring media coverage and providing professional advice to the inquiry staff and panel.
	The Hamill Inquiry has issued 14 press releases to date:
	
		
			   Press notices issued 
			  2005  
			 May 1 
			 June 1 
			 July 1 
			   
			  2006  
			 August 2 
			 November 2 
			 December 1 
			   
			  2007  
			 July 1 
			 August 1 
			   
			  2008  
			 March 1 
			 July 1 
			 November 1 
			   
			  2009  
			 January 1 
		
	
	The Hamill Inquiry does not have a budget for a press office. The predicted expenditure on public relations consultancy services in the calendar year 2009 is £49,222.50.

Robert Hamill Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Hamill inquiry has employed since its inception, broken down by  (a) month and  (b) role.

Shaun Woodward: From November 2004 there have been two civil servants working as secretary and solicitor to the inquiry.
	The following staff changes have been made:
	In January 2005, a deputy solicitor, assistant solicitor and deputy secretary were recruited.
	In February 2005, a finance officer was recruited.
	In March 2005, a higher executive officer and administrator were recruited.
	In August 2005, the deputy secretary was released.
	In November 2005, the deputy solicitor and assistant solicitor were released.
	In January 2006, the administrator was released and a deputy solicitor was recruited.
	In September 2006, the deputy solicitor was released and an assistant solicitor was recruited.
	In January 2007, a finance/administration officer was recruited.
	In May 2007, a deputy solicitor was recruited.
	In July 2007, the assistant solicitor was released.
	In September 2007, the secretary was released and the solicitor took on the secretarial role.
	In January 2008, a witness information officer (50 per cent. full-time employment), a personal assistant (75 per cent. full-time employment) were recruited, and the finance officer moved to 50 per cent. full-time employment.
	In February 2008, the witness information manager and personal assistant became full-time, and the 50 per cent. FTE finance officer was released.
	In April 2008, a senior finance officer was recruited.
	In July 2008, a witness team member (50 per cent. FTE) was recruited.
	In August 2008, the witness team member became full time.
	In November 2008, an assistant to counsel was recruited.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many press officers the Nelson Inquiry employs; how many press releases the Inquiry has published, broken down by month; and what the budget for the press office is in 2009.

Shaun Woodward: I am advised by the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry that the Inquiry uses one press officer on an ad-hoc basis. The press officer is available to provide the full range of press office support, including duties such as handling day-to-day media inquiries, out-of-hours media inquiries, and providing professional advice to the Inquiry staff and Panel.
	The Inquiry has released 10 press notices to date:
	
		
			  Press notices issued 
			   Number 
			 March 2005 2 
			 May 2005 1 
			 June 2005 1 
			 December 2005 1 
			 September 2006 1 
			 October 2006 1 
			 July 2007 1 
			 October 2007 1 
			 April 2008 1 
		
	
	The Rosemary Nelson Inquiry does not have a budget for a press office. The predicted expenditure for the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry's press officer in the calendar year 2009 is £12,405.

Rosemary Nelson Inquiry

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people the Nelson Inquiry has employed since its inception, broken down by  (a) month and  (b) role.

Shaun Woodward: From November 2004, there have been two civil servants working at the Inquiry, acting as solicitor and secretary to the Inquiry. The following staff changes have occurred:
	In January 2005, two legal support officers, an evidence manager, a finance officer and an admin support officer were recruited
	In February 2005, a deputy secretary was recruited
	In March 2005, a deputy solicitor was recruited
	In May 2005, a finance manager was recruited
	In June 2005, one legal support officer was released and a second finance officer recruited
	In September 2005, an admin support officer was released
	In October 2005, one finance officer was released
	In November 2005, the evidence manager was released and one legal support officer was recruited
	In December 2005 one assistant solicitor, one legal support officer and one admin support officer were recruited
	In January 2006, one legal support officer was recruited
	In April 2006, a second assistant solicitor was recruited
	In August 2006, a team secretary was recruited
	In January 2007, a bundle manager was recruited
	In February 2007, an admin support officer was released
	In March 2007, one legal support officer was released
	In April 2007, three legal support officers were recruited
	In August 2007, an admin support officer was recruited
	In September 2007, a finance officer was released
	In October 2007, an assistant solicitor and a legal support officer were released
	In January 2008, an admin support officer was released and a writer/researcher was recruited
	In March 2008, an admin support officer was recruited
	In April 2008, one legal support officer was released
	In June 2008, a finance officer, one legal support officer and a witness co-ordinator were recruited
	In July 2008, one legal support officer and a witness co-ordinator were released
	In August 2008, an admin support officer was recruited
	In November 2008, a team secretary and a bundle manager were released.

TRANSPORT

A14

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the documentation on the environmental impact of the A14 improvement scheme between Ellington and Fern Ditton.

Paul Clark: The A14 Ellington to Fen Ditton scheme was included in the roads programme announcement "Britain's Transport Motorways and Major Trunk Roads" on 15 January 2009.
	As part of the scheme development work the Highways Agency is producing an Environmental Statement that will set out the environmental impacts of this scheme. This Environmental Statement is due to be published alongside draft Highways Act Orders in the early summer 2009.

Air Travel Trust Fund

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the current balance of the Air Travel Trust Fund is; and what the limit of its overdraft is.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The balance of the Air Travel Trust Fund at the end of the 2007-08 financial year and its credit facilities are both detailed in the Air Travel Trust 2008 Report and Accounts at:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/33/ATT2008web.pdf
	Audited accounts for 2008-09 are not yet available. However, given the collapse of XL Leisure Group in September 2008 we expect that the fund will be more in deficit at the end of the 2008-09 financial year.

Aviation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to amend reform to the Chicago Convention to allow the market pricing of airport departure slots.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The main legal framework for the management of airport slots is set out in the EC slot allocation regulations (the EC regulations). In April 2008 a European Commission Communication clarified the Commission's view that secondary slot trading, whereby the exchange of slots takes place with monetary and any other consideration, is compatible with the EC regulations.
	Any further moves towards market pricing of slots would require the EC regulations to be amended. We understand that the Commission has no current plans to review the EC regulations. In the case of any proposed change, the Government would consult fully with stakeholders.

Aviation: Taxation

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to extend the one pound levy per passenger per flight to all operators of leisure flights originating in the UK; and if he will make it his policy not to increase the amount of the levy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are not planning to extend financial protection for consumers to flight-only sales. However, we are exploring other options for the reform of the ATOL scheme, with a view to increasing the clarity and simplicity of ATOL for the consumer and reducing burdens to ATOL companies.
	The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) intends to consult ATOL license holders this spring on a proposed increase to the ATOL Protection Contribution (APC), currently £1 per passenger. All consultation responses will be carefully considered and a final decision will be made by the Secretary of State in due course.

Departmental Planning Permission

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the estimated average time was for planning clearance of major infrastructure projects commissioned by his Department in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The Crossrail project was given outline planning approval by means of legislation that took three years five months to pass through Parliament.
	Otherwise, the only major infrastructure projects specifically commissioned by the Department for Transport are schemes undertaken by the Highways Agency on the Strategic Road Network. The information requested on the planning timetable for such schemes is not held centrally and could be assembled only at disproportionate cost.

Driving: Licensing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what procedures his Department has in place to remind drivers of the expiry date of 10 year driving licences.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Photocard licence holders are sent a personalised renewal reminder two months in advance of the date of expiry of their photograph.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency also provide advice on how to check the expiry date on the photocard in a leaflet issued with every new licence.

Driving: Licensing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many drivers were stopped and fined in Scotland for driving without a valid licence in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: This is a devolved matter for the Scottish Executive.

eCall

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the merits of mandatory equipping of new vehicles with an eCall facility.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Reducing the numbers of people killed or seriously injured on our roads is one of the Department's key objectives and we believe that technology has an important role to play. However, any potential measure needs to be assessed against its expected costs and benefits.
	Our most recent research suggests that the costs of mandatory eCall implementation would be greater than the benefits it would bring. However, we are working closely with the European Commission to ensure we have the best available data and will review our position in the light of any new evidence. The Department is also actively supporting the recently established group that will advise on issues around the voluntary implementation of eCall across Europe.

Electric Vehicles

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress the Government is making in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions through the development of battery-powered vehicles.

Jim Fitzpatrick: On 15 January 2009, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that £250 million would be made available to create a system of consumer incentives to build the market for ultra-low emission vehicles, including battery-powered vehicles. Final decisions on how this money will be used are yet to be taken, but we expect that the bulk of the money will be available between 2011 and 2014 and will mainly be used reduce the purchase price of the vehicles, with the remainder used for targeted infrastructure provision.
	This money is in addition to support, worth over £100 million, provided for research, development and demonstration of battery-powered, and other low emission, vehicles through the Technology Strategy Board's Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform.
	Battery-powered vehicles are also generously supported through the taxation systems, for example, exemption from paying vehicle excise duty and fuel duty. Government have also provided funding, through the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Grant Programme, to support the installation of electric vehicle charging points.

Freight: North West

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the availability of freight facilities grants in the North West; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: On 22 January 2008 the Department announced that Freight Facilities Grants (FFG) will no longer be available for investment in intermodal terminals in the North West of England (i.e. the Manchester, Liverpool, and Widnes conurbations).
	This decision reflected the increasing competitiveness of the sector with a number of terminals and freight hauliers active in the market. The Department's decision was taken to ensure that FFGs do not distort the market and give competitive advantage to those receiving grants versus those who do not.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the responses to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation said  (a) that they were partially or totally opposed to Heathrow expansion,  (b) that they did not believe Heathrow expansion could take place whilst meeting the Government's air quality limits without further measures and  (c) that they did not believe Heathrow expansion could take place whilst meeting the noise contour limit of 127 square kilometres at the indicated levels of air traffic, broken down by (i) campaign postcards and petitions and (ii) postal response, (iii) free-text responses and (iv) online response form; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: A detailed analysis of the responses to the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport consultation can be found in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport Report on consultation responses, which was published on 15 January. Sections 2.2 to 2.13 of the above report provides an executive summary, detailing responses to the consultation.
	25,331 respondents stated that they did not want any further expansion at Heathrow. Of these, 4,945 used the postal response form, 2,500 the online response form, 4,614 were free text responses, and there were 13,272 postcards/petition responses. The responses were not coded as being either 'partially' or 'totally' opposed to expansion.
	61 respondents specifically stated that air quality limits could not be met without further measures. Of these, nine used the postal response form, 51 were free text responses, and there was one postcard/petition response. In addition, of 16,049 respondents who replied to the question about air quality using the online response form, 73 per cent. disagreed with the statement that expansion was possible while meeting the air quality limits.
	37 respondents stated that they did not believe that expansion could take place while meeting the noise contour limit. Of these, three used the postal response forms, 33 were free text responses and there was one postcard/petition response. In addition, of 15,999 respondents who replied to the question about the noise contour limit using the online response form, 74 per cent. disagreed with the statement that expansion was possible whilst meeting the noise contour limit.

Heathrow Airport

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department spent on the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Report on consultation responses publication in relation to  (a) fees for analysis and preparation of the report paid to Detica,  (b) fees for analysis and preparation of the report paid to Ipsos Mori and  (c) production and distribution costs; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department procured Detica to analyse consultation responses and produce the report Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Report on consultation responses. The total costs paid to Detica were £939,989.18 including VAT. Ipsos Mori was subcontracted by Detica for their input into this work.
	The Department printed 1,500 copies of the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport: Report on consultation responses. The cost for this was £13,947 including VAT. Copies of the report were placed in the House Libraries, and can also be obtained from the Department's distribution centre. Distribution costs have been marginal.

Heathrow Airport: Air Pollution

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to question 259633, on what date the work carried out by the Project for Sustainable Development of Heathrow was first assessed as sufficiently robust to conclude the  (a) air quality limits and  (b) noise contour limit of 127 sq km had been met in relation to (i) third runway scenarios and (ii) mixed mode scenarios consulted on in the Adding Capacity at Heathrow Airport public consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Further to the reply I gave on 2 March 2009,  Official  Report, column 1270W, on air quality, the critical point on noise was to establish the number of movements that could initially be accommodated within the noise contour limit with a third runway around 2020; that was not clear until mid-September 2007. Similarly, the results reported in the consultation document for mixed mode were not complete until mid-September 2007.

High Speed Trains

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to encourage the provision of a direct high-speed rail service from London to Amsterdam to coincide with the completion of the Brussels-Amsterdam high-speed line.

Paul Clark: The Government are currently undertaking the restructuring of London And Continental Railways, as enabled by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Act 2008. Among the principal aims of this restructuring is to free Eurostar from past liabilities, enabling it to further develop its service offering; and to encourage the introduction of more services from a potential range of operators onto High Speed 1.

Motor Vehicles

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his Department's most recent estimate is of the number of vehicles operating outside the law on  (a) registration,  (b) vehicle testing and  (c) insurance on the basis used in its Roads Policing Operations V79 paper published in September 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The most recent Operation V79 was carried out in March 2008. 6,689 vehicles were stopped at random by police and checked for compliance with driver and vehicle licensing regulations. The full report of the operation was published in November 2008 and is available on the Department for Transport's website.
	The 2008 results show increased compliance levels in respect of vehicle registration, vehicle testing and insurance compared with the previous survey in 2006.
	The level of incorrectly registered vehicles was recorded at 3.6 per cent. of vehicles stopped, compared with 6.1 per cent. in 2006.
	The recorded level of uninsured drivers fell to 1.2 per cent. from 1.9 per cent. in the previous survey.
	The level of vehicles found without a valid MOT was 1.5 per cent. as opposed to 4.2 per cent. in 2006.

Public Transport: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by his Department per capita on public transport in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport supports local authority capital expenditure on public transport mainly through the allocation of Integrated Transport block funding, which is used for capital investment in small-scale transport improvements. This funding is not ring-fenced and local authorities have discretion to spend their allocations in line with their priorities. Local authority revenue expenditure on transport, for example spend on supporting bus services or concessionary fares, is mainly supported through the Department for Communities and Local Government's formula grant.
	The Department also supports bus services through Bus Service Operators' Grant, and provides funding for rail services, but these amounts are not available on the basis of local authority boundaries.
	Integrated Transport block allocations provided to Hertfordshire county council by the Department, together with specific funding provided for urban and rural bus projects and, in 2008-09, for concessionary travel, are shown in the following table. Comparable data are available for 2000-01 onwards.
	
		
			  DFT allocations to Hertfordshire county council 
			   Allocation on public transport (£ million)  Per capita (£) 
			 2008-09 15.034 14.103 
			 2007-08 12.369 11.602 
			 2006-07 12.148 11.476 
			 2005-06 13.692 13.022 
			 2004-05 13.613 13.029 
			 2003-04 16.292 15.623 
			 2002-03 14.459 13.916 
			 2001-02 13.196 12.743 
			 2000-01 5.851 5.682 
			  Note: Per capita figures are based on Office for National Statistics population estimates for Hertfordshire. Estimates were not available for 2008-09—the 2007-08 estimate has been used for this year.

Rescue Services: Northern Ireland

Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many emergency calls were received by each HM Coastguard office in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has one Maritime and Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) in Northern Ireland at Bangor, Belfast MRCC.
	The MRCC can receive multiple calls about a single incident as well as hoax calls.
	The MCA does not have data on the number of individual emergencies in a readily available format. However, the MCA's records show that from October 2004 (when the current search and rescue recording system was introduced in Belfast) to date, that Belfast MRCC allocated resources to respond to 1,756 incidents of an emergency category, a number of which would have attracted multiple calls or resulted in the calls being of a false nature.

Road Markings: Safety

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the merits of road markings on motorways to inform drivers of safe minimum distances between vehicles.

Paul Clark: Since the Department for Transport published their guidance on road separation markings in 2005, further research work on this type of road marking and the associated signing options is being carried out by the Highways Agency on the A34 in Oxfordshire.

Roads: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of road safety partnership grants in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire.

Jim Fitzpatrick: No projects led by Hertfordshire county council or any other local authorities within Hertfordshire have been supported by road safety partnership grants.

Shipping

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish the results of his recent consultation on proposed regulations under section 130 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to control ship-to-ship oil transfers within UK territorial waters; and when he expects to lay regulations before Parliament.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has been considering the responses to the consultation exercise, and I anticipate that the summary of the responses will be published on the MCA website later this month.
	The MCA are developing the draft regulations in the light of the consultation responses and have identified areas of the draft regulations which will need to be changed. We will also be discussing possible changes to the draft regulations with other Government Departments which have a policy involvement. In view of the developments to the draft regulations arising from the consultation responses, and the discussions with other Government Departments, it is possible that we will have to conduct a second consultation exercise. Accordingly, it is not possible to say at this stage when we will lay the regulations before Parliament.

Tour Operators: Licensing

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people flew overseas for tourism or leisure purposes in 2008; and how many of them were  (a) covered and  (b) not covered for consumer protection through the ATOL scheme.

Jim Fitzpatrick: According to the Office for National Statistics' "MQ6 Transport, Travel and Tourism" reports, around 37 million visits abroad were made by UK residents for holiday purposes in the period from the final quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008 at:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=1905
	According to the Civil Aviation Authority, the total number of visits abroad made under the ATOL scheme in the same period was around 19 million.

Transport Infrastructure

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the statement of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 355-60W, on transport infrastructure, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of using the green slot principle on levels of carbon dioxide emissions.

Jim Fitzpatrick: As set out in the statement of 15 January, the Department for Transport will be consulting on the green slots principle for use in allocating slots created by additional capacity at Heathrow. Subject to the outcome of the consultation, the intention is that the use of green slots will mean that airlines will need to allocate their cleanest and least noisy aircraft to secure priority for slots from the additional capacity at Heathrow.
	Box 3.2 of our latest 'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' (published in January 2009) shows the extent to which the fuel efficiency of the newest aircraft—and thereby CO2 emissions—has improved in recent years and is forecast by various independent sources to continue improving in years to come.
	'UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts' is available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/atf/co2forecasts09/
	Aircraft using 'green slots' are likely to be younger than the average and, like for like, there would therefore also be consequential CO2 benefits.

DEFENCE

Aircraft Carriers

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 26 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1062W, on future strategic tanker aircraft, what initial payment is specified in the private finance initiative contract relating to the Future Strategic Aircraft Carrier; when he expects that payment to be made; what estimate he has made of his Department's monthly expenditure on invoices to be presented under the contract; and if he will make a statement.

Quentin Davies: Information on the estimated unitary charges over the lifetime of the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) project is recorded centrally on the Treasury's website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
	The first invoice for the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme should be presented in December 2011 with the first payment being made in January 2012.

Armed Forces: Animals

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what re-homing schemes his Department uses for animals which have been utilised in defence-related activity.

Kevan Jones: When considering a military animal for re-homing, the key issues are the care and welfare of the animal and the duty of care to the public.
	In the case of dogs, service units will often identify an appropriate home with the dog's last or former handler. Otherwise, the dog is returned to the Defence Animal Centre who seek to retire it as a pet with a member of the armed forces or the public.
	With regard to horses, those that have served for long periods will, wherever possible, be sent to a home that has been found suitable following inspection.

Armed Forces: Deployment

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many British armed forces personnel are deployed in East Africa; and in which countries such personnel are based.

Bob Ainsworth: While exact numbers fluctuate on a regular basis, there are currently some 1,200 armed forces personnel deployed in Kenya, the majority of whom are on exercise, and two in the defence section in Uganda. There are no armed forces personnel deployed in Tanzania.

Departmental Data Protection

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy for his Department to sign the Information Commissioner's Personal Information Promise.

Bob Ainsworth: The Government welcomed the promise as a commendable initiative to raise awareness of the importance of effective data protection safeguards, particularly for those organisations with no similar commitments already in place.
	The Government take data protection very seriously. Following the Cabinet Office Review of data handling procedures in Government, Departments have implemented a raft of measures to improve data security.
	The Ministry of Justice is considering actively with the ICO how the promise might add additional value to those measures we have already signed up to. These include the Information Charters, the recommendations of the Data Handling Review and the Thomas/Walport Review and, of course, our legal obligations under the Data Protection Act and other legislation and regulations.

Departmental Private Finance Initiative

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what private finance initiatives have been entered into by his Department since 1997, indicating in each case  (a) the total value of each contract,  (b) the name of the contractor and  (c) whether each contract has been subject to refinancing arrangements; what the monetary value of the refinancing arrangement was in each such case; and what the extent of the claw back has been.

Quentin Davies: Information on the capital value and estimated revenue payments for the lifetime of each private finance contract as well as the primary contractors (equity stakeholders in the project companies) are recorded centrally on the Treasury's website at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ppp_pfi_stats.htm
	Since November 2000, it has been the MOD's policy, in common with other government departments, that all Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and those Public Private Partnership contracts involving the use of private finance must contain legally binding conditions whereby any gains from refinancing are shared with the MOD on a 50:50 basis. For contracts signed before November 2000, the right to share a refinancing gain is governed by a code of conduct agreed with industry.
	PFI projects that have been the subject of a refinancing agreement together with details of the value and the extent of the claw back to the MOD in each case are shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Project Name  Date r efinanced  Refinancing s hare (Percentage)  MOD share of refinancing g ain (£  m illion) 
			 Joint Services Command and Staff College June 2002 30 0.38 
			 Central Scotland Family Quarters—Bannockburn June 2003 30 1.82 
			 Medium Support Helicopter December 2004 (1)28 1.35 
			 VLF Fleet Communications (MOD project) December 2006 30 1.62 
			 Tornado GR4 Simulator March 2007 30 0.562 
			 Strategic Sealift December 2007 30 0.464 
			 (1) The calculation of the refinancing gain was based on HMT policy but it also includes a package of contract changes guaranteeing the Department a total of £1.35 million.

Future Large Aircraft

Ann Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what formula has been used to calculate the cost of the contract for the A400M aircraft.

Quentin Davies: Development and production costs are based on a negotiated agreement between Airbus Military and the customer Nations. Development costs are shared on a pro-rata basis with other Nations according to numbers of aircraft being purchased; UK therefore pays 25/180 of the total development cost. There is a variation of price formula to cover variation of economic conditions, in prescribed circumstances.

RAF Menwith Hill

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which  (a) US and  (b) UK contractors are currently working at RAF Menwith Hill.

Bob Ainsworth: The contractors presently working at RAF Menwith Hill are:
	 US Contractors
	Lockheed Martin
	Northrop Grumman
	 UK Contractors
	Haden Young
	Clark Construction
	Britcon
	SGW (Middlesbrough)
	Shaylor Construction
	IUS
	Paragon
	HC Engineering
	Balfour Beatty
	Wrekin
	Carillion AMBS
	T Clarke
	Landscape Centre

OLYMPICS

Government Olympic Executive: Pay

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much was spent on the salaries of civil servants working in the Government Olympic Executive in each of the last three years.

Tessa Jowell: In each of the last three years, the amount spent on the salaries of civil servants working in the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) was:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 1,687,876.45 
			 2007-08 2,869,649.18 
			 2008-09 (to end February 2009) 3,899,380.87 
		
	
	The amount spent on salaries reflects the increase in the number of civil servants (full-time equivalents (FTEs)) working in the GOE, from 34.8 FTEs in February 2007 to 69.4 FTEs in February 2009.
	This planned increase in staffing (a) reflects the wider role the GOE has taken on during this period—GOE is now the only organisation overseeing the entire Olympic project, integrating the work of multiple delivery bodies, and ensuring the games is delivered within the £9.3 billion public sector funding provision; (b) is a planned response to the expected growth in work to deliver the Government's commitments and guarantees, as 2012 approaches; and (c) is consistent with GOE's staffing and resource plan for 2008-09 to 2010-11, which was agreed early in 2008.

Olympic Delivery Authority: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many businesses from the London Borough of Bexley have won contracts from the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Tessa Jowell: To the end of January 2009, five businesses registered in the London borough of Bexley had won contracts directly supplying the Olympic Delivery Authority.
	Businesses interested in getting involved in the games should be encouraged to sign up to CompeteFor, the electronic brokerage service that is designed to give business across the country access to contracts in the London 2012 supply chains and any support they need to get ready to compete for them. To date, over 2,000 opportunities have been posted on CompeteFor.

Olympic Games 2012: Expenditure

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much had been spent on the velopark at the latest date for which figures are available; and what its estimated final cost is.

Tessa Jowell: At the end of December 2008 £5.6 million had been spent on the VeloPark project. As reported in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games Annual Report 2009, the potential final cost of the project is £105 million. This figure takes into account all known cost pressures and opportunities, in particular the more complex foundations and ground conditions encountered on the VeloPark site, following its slight relocation to the west to enhance the legacy configuration of facilities.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Departmental Surveys

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department spent on staff surveys in each of the last five years; and which companies were contracted to carry out the surveys.

Si�n Simon: The Department was created on 28 June 2007. Since it was established, the Department has conducted one full staff survey in October 2008. The survey was delivered in house and the results were analysed by ORC International Ltd.
	The cost of the staff survey was 19,515 inc. VAT.

Graduates: Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he plans to take in response to the decline in the number of graduates being recruited by businesses.

David Lammy: We recognise that graduates will not be immune from the downturn. However, graduates should not panic: a recent AGR survey suggests that many companies will continue to recruit graduates in the knowledge that it is in their long term interests, and that many graduates will still get graduate level jobs. The Government are committed to helping new graduates to improve their prospects for work, so we are promoting volunteering, development of entrepreneurial skills and further study to graduates who do not yet have a job, and working alongside major employers to encourage more internships.

Graduates: Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to make students aware of Government initiatives to help them into employment.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to helping new graduates to improve their prospects for work. Our message to students is that they should take advantage of the professional support available from university careers services and take every opportunity to gain the experience and broad range of work related skills that are valued by employers. To help them to do this we are working with employers in the public, private and charitable sectors to increase the availability of volunteering and internship opportunities, and are encouraging new graduates to consider self employment opportunities. The Department has recently created a new section on DirectGov:
	http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/EducationAndLearning/UniversityAndHigherEducation/ChoicesAfterYouGraduate/DG 4017755
	to get these messages across to graduates and to offer detailed advice and information on graduate options. We are also working in partnership with the National Union of Students to produce further guidance in time for the spring graduate fairs.

Work Experience

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which companies have agreed to take part in the National Internship Scheme in  (a) 2008-09,  (b) 2009-10,  (c) 2010-11 and  (d) 2011-12; and (i) how much the Government plans to spend on the scheme for internships in the (A) private and (B) public sectors and (ii) how many graduates are expected to take part in the scheme in each of those years.

David Lammy: The Government are committed to helping new graduates to improve their prospects for work in these challenging economic times. We are encouraging graduates to consider the range of opportunities available to them including internships which will help them to build the work ready skills they will need for permanent employment. We are currently talking to key stakeholders in the public, private and charitable sectors about the best way to increase internships this autumn and it is too early to confirm any details.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Standard Employment Contract

David Taylor: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what representations the House of Commons Commission has received on the merits of a standard employment contract for the staff of hon. Members; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Harvey: The issue of a standard employment contract for hon. Members' staff was considered in the Members Estimate Committee's Review of Allowances last year (HC 578). Discussions were held with a number of Members on employment arrangements for staff. The MEC concluded that the current arrangements, whereby a standard contract is provided by the Department of Resources, continued to be the most appropriate employment model for Members' staff. No additional representations have been received.

Energy Efficiency

Simon Hughes: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what steps the House authorities have taken to improve the energy efficiency of the Palace of Westminster in the last 12 months.

Nick Harvey: The House authorities have, in the last 12 months, reconfigured building management systems; installed new remote energy meters, kitchen ventilation and lighting controls, energy efficient lighting and movement sensors; developed design standards for energy consuming services and conducted building energy surveys.
	A feasibility study of energy supply options is under way as part of the mechanical and electrical services upgrade project and insulation will be targeted during the imminent roof overhaul project. In addition, a new post of head of fire safety and environment has been created and filled.

Electricity Expenditure

Philip Hollobone: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the House of Commons Commission will make an estimate of the potential effect on House of Commons expenditure on electricity of the installation and use of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting.

Nick Harvey: The House authorities are not yet in a position to be able to estimate the potential effect on House of Commons expenditure on electricity of the installation and use of light emitting diode (LED) lighting.
	Several trials of LED technology are under way including the lower waiting hall, nurses' offices and maintenance offices. The trials will inform Parliament's lighting programme for the future.

Members' Expenses

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the most recent analysis of hon. Members' expenses will be published.

Nick Harvey: Annual totals for 2007-08, using the 10 main headings of previous annual publications, will shortly be sent to Members for checking, and will be published before the Easter recess.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Parliamentary Scrutiny

Evan Harris: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to improve the House's ability to scrutinise those Government Bills where many different groups of new clauses and amendments are selected for consideration at Report stage.

Chris Bryant: The number of groups of amendments and new clauses selected for debate is not usually known until the day of the debate itself.
	The Government will always try to ensure that adequate time is available for debate at Report stage, especially where new matters of substance are to be introduced into the Bill.

Procedure Committee

Philip Davies: To ask the Leader of the House if she will bring forward proposals to merge the Procedure Committee and the Modernisation of the House of Commons Committee.

Chris Bryant: I have always been committed to a strong Select Committee system. Important work is done every week by all of the committees of the House and the Modernisation Committee has made a number of recommendations in the past on which the House has acted.
	The Modernisation Committee has yet to complete its inquiry into recall and dissolution. Once that work is complete, my right hon. Friend and I will give further consideration to the best way to take forward the Modernisation agenda.

Debates

John Robertson: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has to make debates on the floor of the House more understandable to the general public.

Chris Bryant: If the House is to retain its place at the heart of our national political life, it is vital that we continue our work to engage more effectively with the public. Promoting public knowledge and understanding of Parliament through the provision of information and access is a high priority for my right hon. Friend and one of the House of Commons Commission's three primary objectives.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Departmental Art Works

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which works of art from the Government Art Collection each Minister in his Department has selected for display in a private office.

Barbara Follett: The following works are displayed in DCMS Ministers' private offices.
	
		
			   Works of art 
			  Andy Burnham  
			 296 Lancashire Fair: Good Friday, Daisy Nook painting by Laurence Stephen Lowry 
			 8371 The South West Prospect of Liverpoole, in the County Palatine of Lancaster print by Samuel and Nathaniel Buck 
			 16361/C A Storm print by Howard Hodgkin 
			 16421/C Little Gilded Equinox sculpture by William Pye 
			 17018 Lorry with Cabledrum painting by Prunella Clough 
			 17998 Devotional print by Sonia Boyce 
			 18079 Print for a Politician print by Grayson Perry 
			   
			  Andy Burnham, outer office  
			 4749 Trafalgar Square print by Ceri Richards 
			 12414 Picture of a Still Life that has an Elaborate Silver Frame reproduction by David Hockney 
			 13214 Legs over High Tor photograph by Paul Hill 
			 16385/C Branded from 35 Artists Printmaking, Folio 2 print by Susie Allen 
			 17519 Come on England print by Adam Dant 
			 17867 Untitled print by Antony Gormley 
			   
			  Barbara Follett  
			 1700 Tresco, Isles of Scilly painting by Julian Trevelyan 
			 2654 Sir David Eccles and Mr. Eric Bedford on the Coronation Stands outside Buckingham Palace painting by John Ward 
			 7276 Study for Standard sculpture by Elisabeth Frink 
			 13862 Hedgerow Flowers in a Jug painting by Winifred Nicholson 
			 14776 Landscape with Trees painting by Jessica Dismorr 
			 14777 Landscape with Cottages painting by Jessica Dismorr 
			 16356/C Gloucester Gate, Regent's Park, Night, Autumn painting by Adrian Berg 
			 16591 The Model Makers painting by Norman Blarney 
			 16832 Calf sculpture by Nicola Hicks 
			 17329/1 Feather that went to the Top of Everest (In the jacket of Rebecca Stevens, the first British woman to climb Mt. Everest) photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			 17329/2 Feather that went to the South Pole (In the sleeping bag of Sir Ranulph Fiennes on his trip across Antarctica) photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			 17329/3 Feather from Benjamin Franklin's Attic (With thanks to the Benjamin Franklin Museum) photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			 17329/4 Feather from Freud's Pillow (From his couch) (With thanks to the Freud Museum) photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			 17329/5 Raven Feather from the Tower of London photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			 17329/6 Feather from a Wandering Albatross (With thanks to the British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge) photograph by Cornelia Parker 
			   
			  Office previously occupied by the Minster for Sport (Gerry Sutcliffe)  
			 11665 Swimmer print by Barbara Newcomb 
			 12616 Rowers print by Julian Trevelyan 
			 13457 Manor Farm, Carleton Moor, North Yorkshire watercolour by Alan Everard Ingham 
			 17368 Untitled (2) print by Mark Francis 
			 17369 Untitled (4) print by Mark Francis 
			 18029 London collage by Gilbert and George 
			 L168 White Boat, Yugoslavia from The Sailing Boats Suite print by Michael Rothenstein 
			   
			  Tessa Jowell  
			 12217 Blue Still Life watercolour by William Scott 
			 17257 Slate Throws 1 Blencathra Mountain, Cumbria 19 February 1988 photograph by Andy Goldsworthy 
			 17258 Slate Throws 2 Blencathra Mountain, Cumbria 19 February 1988 photograph by Andy Goldsworthy 
			 17259 Slate Throws 3 Blencathra Mountain, Cumbria 19 February 1988 photograph by Andy Goldsworthy 
			 17260 Slate Throws 4 Blencathra Mountain, Cumbria 19 February 1988 photograph by Andy Goldsworthy 
			 18171 The Rose Gardens (display: II) (I) photograph by Sarah Jones 
			 18183 Margate 1 Sand print by Tracey Emin 
			 18184 Still Love You Margate print by Tracey Emin

Departmental Consultants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on management consultants in 2007-08.

Gerry Sutcliffe: According to the Department's financial records the expenditure attributed to management consultants in 2007-08 was 31,339.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department uses WPA2 encryption protocol on all its wireless networks.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has no wireless networks connected to the main corporate network. Those wireless networks used by visitors and for testing are set up to use WPA2.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what auditing his Department undertakes to ensure that IT security policies are being followed; and on how many occasions  (a) IT security policies have been breached by employees and  (b) a member of staff has been sanctioned for a breach of such policies in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department undertakes both internal and independent external auditing of compliance. No members of staff have been sanctioned for breaches of our IT security policies in the last 12 months nor have any such breaches been reported.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's IT security hierarchy.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department does not provide this information on security grounds.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what scanning for vulnerabilities his Department conducts of each of its IT devices; what method is used for IT device scans; and how many vulnerabilities have been detected as a result of such scans in the last 12 months.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department carries out a range of vulnerability scans and uses independent outside auditors to carry out additional reviews. We do not provide information on scanning methods or vulnerabilities on security grounds.

Departmental Data Protection

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what IT security policy his Department has; what procedures are in place to ensure the policy is being followed; what his Department's policy is on encryption of data when it leaves departmental premises; and what sanctions are in place for failure to comply with this policy.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has a range of security policies in place which support our compliance with SPF and IS27001. The policies are subject to regular and independent audit. All departmental laptops and memory sticks are encrypted and are the only approved means for taking sensitive data out of the office. Any failures to comply with the policy would be dealt with as per the standard rule on security breaches.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on  (a) alcohol and  (b) food in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: All expenditure is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Treasury guidance on Managing Public Money and Regularity and Propriety.
	Expenditure on food and alcohol is not recorded separately on the Department's management accounts. This information can be obtained only by manually analysing invoices and expense claims over the period which would incur disproportionate cost.

Digital Technology: Community Development

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the growth in digital media upon levels of  (a) community stability and cohesion and  (b) participation in democratic political activities.

Andy Burnham: My Department has not carried out any such assessment. However, the Digital Britain interim report recognised that the growth of digital media was impacting on local radio and news provision. In light of this, we have invited the Office of Fair Trading, together with Ofcom and other interested parties, to undertake an exploratory review across the local and regional media sector and make appropriate recommendations.

Leisure: Industry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent steps the Government has taken to support  (a) cultural,  (b) media and  (c) sporting industries.

Andy Burnham: My Department works closely with a range of partners including industry to support, and maximise the contribution to the UK economy of, the Culture, Media, Sport and Leisure Sectors. Examples of recent activity in these important sectors include the Creative Economy Programme, Digital Britain, a Decade of Sport, and the Free Swimming initiative.
	In February 2008 the Government published Creative Britain: New Talents for the New Economy which set out 26 commitments to support the creative industries. Working with our partners in other Government Departments and public and private sector organisations, DCMS' Creative Economy Programme has made good progress on realising the ambitions of Creative Britain in the year since publication. Of the 26 commitments, 18 are now either well under way or completed.
	In January 2009 the Government published the Digital Britain Interim Report, a plan to secure Britain's place at the forefront of the global digital economy. The report contains more than 20 recommendations on how to maximise the opportunities for communications sector, its crucial contribution to the economy and its role in building Britain's industrial future. These are being taken forward with a range of partners including industry.
	In January 2009 Government also announced plans for a Decade of Sport, from this year's World Twenty20 Cricket, through London's Olympics, to the Ryder Cup and the cricket World Cup, and the opportunity to bid for or host an incredible range of world class sports events. We also announced unprecedented investment in elite and grassroots sport and the start in April of free swimming for under 16s and over 60s in England.

Public Houses

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public houses were in operation in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The DCMS Statistical Bulletin on Alcohol, Entertainment and Late Night Refreshment does not identify the number of pubs in England and Wales; but rather the number of premises authorising the sale or supply of alcohol by means of a premises licence or a club premises certificate. These figures apply not only to public houses, but also to other licensed premises such as hotels, off licences and convenience stores.
	However, industry estimates for the number of public houses in England and Wales are available from the market research company Market and Business Development using data from the British Beer and Pub Association:
	http://www.caterersearch.com/Articles/2008/10/06/53051/number-of-pubs-in-the-uk-industry-data.html
	We are unable to assess the quality of these statistics as these are not official Government statistics.

Swimming

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding his Department has allocated to the Learn to Swim package as part of its free swimming schemes; which organisations will receive such funding; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 3 March 2009
	As part of the Government's 140 million Free Swimming Programme, we are working with the Amateur Swimming Association and Sport England on the detailed design and funding arrangements for an integrated suite of measures to get more new swimmers into the pool, including the Learn to Swim package to achieve 100,000 more swimmers.
	Swimming lessons as part of the initiative will be organised by a national network of County Swimming Co-ordinators who will be working closely with local authorities participating in the Free Swimming Programme.

Swimming

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to ensure levels of swimming are increased as part of the Olympic legacy; and if he will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: holding answer 3 March 2009
	The Free Swimming Programme will contribute to the Government's ambition of getting 2 million more people more active by 2012. The programme has been designed to attract new participants as well as encouraging existing swimmers to swim more often, and to focus on sustaining increases in participation.

Swimming: Finance

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the source is for the funding for his Department's free swimming initiatives for those aged over 60 and under 16 years in Chorley.

Andy Burnham: Chorley is due to receive a total of 30,743 for the over 60s, and 60,603 for the under 16s, for each of the financial years 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	Free swimming is a cross-Government initiative with funding contributions from the Department of Health, the Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Communities and Local Government, the Department for Children, Schools and Families and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Burma: Storms

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the Government is providing for post-Nargis recovery work in Burma in the next three years.

Michael Foster: The UK Government are considering what contribution to make to the continuing international response to Cyclone Nargis, and will reach a decision shortly.

Departmental Surveys

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many staff surveys his Department has commissioned or carried out since 2007.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has carried out three staff surveys between January 2007 and March 2009.

Overseas Aid

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the Guidelines for incentives on aid effectiveness in donor agencies, produced for his Department by PricewaterhouseCoopers in February 2008, reference number 200808318.

Ivan Lewis: The report Good Practice for Donor Agencies on Incentives for Aid Effectiveness, and an accompanying self-assessment tool will be placed in the Library.

Palestinians: International Assistance

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will place in the Library a copy of the job description and terms of reference for the information officer employed by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Gaza with support from his Department.

Douglas Alexander: The terms of reference and job description for this post will be placed in the Library.

Palestinians: Overseas Aid

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of humanitarian aid to Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The international community and international agencies responded generously and quickly to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and so far, donors have provided $336 million in humanitarian assistance. The UK Government swiftly allocated 26.8 million to address immediate humanitarian needs.
	At the recent conference on reconstruction in Gaza, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptians concluded that $4.5 billion had been pledged, but it remains unclear exactly how much of this is new money. The UK announced 30 million for early recovery in Gaza to help rebuild damaged hospitals, schools and homes. Our pledge includes a new 20 million provision, and 10 million from the support announced in January.
	The humanitarian situation in Gaza will remain dire for some time to come. Limited access for humanitarian supplies and staff remains a key challenge, and access will also be critical for the longer-term recovery effort. The UK Government take the issue of humanitarian access extremely seriously and we have been working closely with all our international partners to get progress on this issue.

Repatriation

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the  (a) name,  (b) relevant country,  (c) aim,  (d) amount of expenditure,  (e) activities undertaken,  (f) duration and  (g) number of individuals assisted is of each project under the Returns and Reintegration Fund that is (i) ongoing, (ii) completed and (iii) planned; and what the procedure is for identifying and selecting projects to receive such funding.

Bill Rammell: I have been asked to reply.
	The Returns and Reintegration Fund aims to increase the numbers of failed asylum seekers and foreign national prisoners who are returned to their country of origin and helps to tackle illegal immigration to the UK. It delivers projects in overseas countries which face challenges in accepting back and reintegrating their nationals; provides rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to individuals who return voluntarily; and helps improve the process of removal from the UK.
	The Fund began on 1 April 2008 and is a pooled fund comprising the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department for International Development, Ministry of Justice and UK Border Agency financial resources and expertise, managed by the FCO. Projects are identified with overseas governments and/or by the UK Government Departments which are party to the Fund. To date we are financing or have in development 83 projects, some of which are still subject to approval. As this amounts to a large volume of material, I have placed a list of the projects in the Libraries of the House. We do not keep records of the numbers of individuals who are assisted through each project.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Binyam Mohamed

Adam Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to paragraph 9 (ix) of the High Court judgment in the case of R (Binyam Mohamed) v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of 21 August 2008, whether the legal adviser to his Department was requested to give an opinion on UK responsibilities in Afghanistan consequent upon the observations made about the treatment of persons detained by or on behalf of the United States in Afghanistan by an officer of the Secret Intelligence Service.

Bill Rammell: It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to disclose whether legal advisers have given advice, nor whether their advice has been or is going to be sought on any particular issue.

China: Family Planning

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the government of China on the Population and Birth-planning Law 2002 since 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: Foreign and Commonwealth officials last discussed the One Child Policy during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in Beijing in January 2008. We do not dispute China's right or need to implement family planning policies but we do believe they should be based on the principles of consent and not coercion.

Democratic Republic of Congo: War Crimes

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Congolese government on the requirement to arrest Bosco Ntaganda in line with the International Criminal Court indictment against him.

Gillian Merron: The United Kingdom is strongly supportive of the International Criminal Court. We have reminded the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of their obligations in respect of the warrant for the arrest of Bosco Ntaganda.

Departmental Correspondence

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average time was for his Department to reply to hon. Member's correspondence in the last 12 months.

Caroline Flint: Only correspondence received by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) ministerial support unit (MSU) is logged centrally. To ask every department or overseas post, within the FCO, how long on average it takes to issue a response to correspondence from hon. Members would incur a disproportionate cost.
	MSU records do not allow us to identify the average length of time taken to respond to correspondence from hon. Members. However, I can confirm that, in line with Cabinet Office guidance, of the 10,334 letters received from hon. Members in 2008, 87 per cent. were answered within 20 working days.

Departmental Policy Advisers

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 598-600W, how many policy positions in his Department were  (a) created and  (b) deleted in each financial year since 1997.

David Miliband: The answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 598-600W, referred to a centrally co-ordinated exercise to re-deploy staff resource in order to deliver the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) new strategic framework. In addition, all FCO directors routinely keep staffing levels and deployments in their areas under review on an ongoing basis, in the light of changing circumstances and priorities.
	Records of the details of these changes since 1997 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Recruitment

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many new employees his Department recruited in  (a) 2005-06,  (b) 2006-07,  (c) 2007-08 and  (d) 2008-09; how many he estimates will be recruited in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11; and how many such recruits are (A) permanent, (B) temporary and (C) agency staff in each such year.

Gillian Merron: The following tables show the number of permanent and temporary employees the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and FCO Services, a trading fund of the FCO, have recruited in the UK in financial years from 2005-06 to 2008-09. They do not include  (a) staff recruited locally to work at Posts overseas and  (b) agency staff. We could not obtain figures for these without incurring disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  FCO 
			   Permanent employees recruited into FCO  Temporary employees recruited into FCO 
			 2005-06 137 44 
			 2006-07 266 55 
			 2007-08 94 51 
			 2008-09 (1)180 51 
			 (1) Of these 90 have come through FCO recruitment processes but have not yet started work at the FCO. 
		
	
	
		
			  FCO Services 
			   Permanent employees recruited into FCO Services  Temporary employees recruited into FCO Services 
			 2005-06 45 16 
			 2006-07 73 11 
			 2007-08 43 19 
			 2008-09 68 10 
		
	
	In 2009-10 the FCO plans to recruit approximately 175 permanent staff in the UK and FCO Services plans to recruit approximately 160.
	In 2010-11 the FCO plans to recruit approximately 175 permanent staff in the UK and FCO Services plans to recruit approximately 100.

Guantanamo Bay: Detainees

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2002W, on detainees: Guantnamo Bay, what the names of the two detainees are; and in which country each was held  (a) before and  (b) after rendition through Diego Garcia.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 2 March 2009
	We are unable to provide further information on this matter other than that given by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in his oral statement of 21 February 2008,  Official Report, column 547. We re-iterate, as said in that statement, that the US government has informed us that neither of these individuals was a British national or a British resident.

India: British Council

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Prime Minister's announcement on Englishthe World's language on 17 January 2008, how many new master trainers have been recruited by the British Council in India to date; how many will be recruited over the next two years; how much will be spent by the British Council on new master trainers in India in 2008-09; what the budget for the programme is for the next two years; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: One of the strategic aims of the British Council's regional English Language project is to train master teacher-trainers of English in all 28 Indian States. To date professional training has taken place in: West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi State Capital, Punjab, Kerala and Tamil Nadu where master-trainers will cascade their learning to teachers across these states. As of March 2009 the programme has trained 1,300 master trainers and learning has been cascaded to 402,000 state school language teachers. Over the next two years a further 1,700 master trainers will be recruited.
	Total direct investment by the British Council in 2008-09 will amount to 75,000 and anticipates making a similar contribution in 2009-10 and 2010-11. To date total contributions from the Indian states involved, both cash and in-kind, have amounted to almost 3 for every 1 the British Council has contributed. The British Council anticipates a similar level of support from them in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Iran: Nuclear Power

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment has been made of the merits of imposing further  (a) UN and  (b) EU sanctions on Iran in light of Iran's failure to respond to UN Security Council resolutions demanding the suspension of its enrichment-related activities; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We have supported five UN Security Council resolutions that require Iran to halt its uranium enrichment programme and co-operate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA's most recent report makes clear that Iran has done neither.
	I strongly urge Iran to comply with these obligations by halting enrichment and engaging with the E3+3. It can then enjoy all the benefits set out in the E3+3's generous offer of June 2008. However, if it continues to refuse to co-operate with the international community we shall do all we can to pursue further sanctions in the UN and the EU.

Members: Correspondence

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks of 15 December 2008, on Somalia.

David Miliband: My noble Friend, Lord Malloch-Brown, the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, replied to the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks on 11 February 2009.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with (i) Arab states and (ii) the government of Israel on (A) the compliance of Hamas with international law in Gaza, (B) allegation of the use by Hamas of human shields in Gaza and (C) allegations of the storage of weapons by Hamas among women and children in Gaza; what response was received from each; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The UK is clear in its calls for Hamas to adhere to the Quartet principles, including a renunciation of violence, and to adhere to the international law. My right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have spoken frequently to their counterparts in Israel and around the Arab world since the beginning of this crisis. They have made clear our opposition to the methods employed by Hamas and the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to refer to Jewish refugees from Arab states and Palestinian refugees in any relevant official document or resolution at the United Nations; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are focused on realising a comprehensive approach to resolving the conflicts in the Middle East, bringing peace between Israel and the whole Arab world. Doing this will mean addressing grievances on all sides, but it is not clear how the policy the hon. Member proposes would advance our goal.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

Phyllis Starkey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what facilities in Gaza have been funded by the European Union; at what cost; and which of them have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli military action since the current offensive against Gaza began.

Bill Rammell: We do not readily have access to data on EU funded facilities in Gaza. The humanitarian consequences and the damage caused by the military operation are still to be fully assessed.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the number of  (a) mortar shells,  (b) white phosphorus shells and  (c) missiles, flechette bombs and dime bombs fired from (i) drones and (ii) aircraft by the Israeli armed forces in each year since 2001.

Bill Rammell: The Department does not hold such figures.

Nuclear Weapons: Arms Control

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking towards multilateral nuclear disarmament.

Bill Rammell: On 4 February 2009, my right hon. Friend, the Foreign Secretary launched a policy information paper entitled Lifting the Nuclear Shadow which laid out six concrete steps towards further multilateral nuclear disarmament. We are committed to driving forward progress on these key steps.
	I also refer the right hon. and Learned Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary to PQ 228112 on 23 October 2008,  Official Report , columns 476-77W.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of reports that the Sri Lankan Government are using cluster bombs in the conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the northern region of the country.

David Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, my hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Bill Rammell) on 19 January 2009,  Official Report, column 1176W. The most recent reports from organisations based in the conflict areas suggest that cluster munitions have not been used, however we will continue to follow up with the Government of Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received on the alleged use of multi-barrel rocket launchers by the Government of Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We are aware of reports alleging the use of heavy artillery such as multi-barrel rocket launchers in the conflict in Sri Lanka. The on-going military hostilities and the lack of independent information coming from northern Sri Lanka make it difficult to verify these claims. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has made clear, we condemn the killing of civilians in the strongest possible terms and have urged all parties to the conflict in Sri Lanka to adhere to international humanitarian law and to take action to avoid civilian casualties.

Sri Lanka: Armed Conflict

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the Government of Sri Lanka on the political situation in Sri Lanka.

Bill Rammell: As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary explained to the House on 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 140, the UK has made it clear to the Government of Sri Lanka that a political solution that addresses the legitimate concerns of all communities in Sri Lanka is the only way to bring a sustainable end to the conflict. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister wrote to President Rajapakse in January. On 30 January 2009, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary telephoned the President. Our high commission in Colombo is in regular contact with the Sri Lankan Government.

Thailand: Demonstrations

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the number of British citizens who were unable to leave in Thailand during the closure of Bangkok Airport in December 2008.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 2 March 2009
	We do not have exact numbers of British nationals who were in Thailand and seeking to leave at the time of the airport closures but in normal circumstances around 1,000 British nationals would leave each day through Bangkok during late November and early December. Bangkok's commercial airports were closed from 26 November 2008 to 3 December 2008, so we estimate that up to 6,000 British nationals had their travel plans disrupted. About 1,300 British Nationals registered with the embassy using the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's on-line registration service, LOCATE, during the airport closures.

United Nations

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what objectives his Department has set for outcomes from  (a) the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and  (b) the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 4 March 2009
	The Government's overall objective for the 53rd Session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women is to evaluate progress on gender equality internationally, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and the advancement of women worldwide. This is particularly important in the current economic climate.
	Throughout the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women, the Government will also be working to promote discussion of this year's priority theme on the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, particularly in relation to the interrelated issues of care-giving and the gender pay gap.
	For the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development the Government aims to ensure that the UN is effective in promoting the International Commission on Population and Development (ICPD) Platform of Action in order to improve the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, girls, men and boys worldwide. In particular, during this Commission on Population and Development, the UK aims to:
	highlight the importance of focusing, during Millennium Development Goal (MDG) processes in 2010, on the key contribution that MDG target 5b (on universal access to reproductive health) makes to the achievement of not only MDG 5 but also goals pertaining to women's empowerment, poverty, child health and the environment;
	emphasise the need to re-invigorate the family planning agenda and to address unmet needs for family planning; and
	call attention to the value of and need for the full participation of all sectors-public, private and civil society-in processes and actions to achieve the ICPD goal of universal access to reproductive health by 2015.

United Nations

Chris McCafferty: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs who the Government representatives at  (a) the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women and  (b) the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development will be.

Gillian Merron: holding answer 4 March 2009
	The Government will be represented at the 53rd Session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women by officials from the Government Equalities Office, as the lead Department. They will be supported by an official from the Department for International Development (DFID) and a Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) official from the Our Mission to the UN in New York.
	As in previous years the Government will be represented at the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development by FCO officials from the Our Mission to the UN in New York. They will be supported from London by DFID officials. The Government will be represented at the 53rd Session on the UN Commission on the Status of Women by officials from the Government Equalities Office, as the lead Department. They will be supported by an official from DFID and an FCO official from Our Mission to the UN in New York.
	As in previous years the Government will be represented at the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development by FCO officials from Our Mission to the UN in New York. They will be supported from London by DFID officials.

Written Questions: Government Responses

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to answer Question 246259, tabled on 17 December, on the survey of the UK's reputation in the US, China and India.

David Miliband: The right hon. Member's question 246259 was answered on 12 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2198W.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Departmental Scientists

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what her Department's budget for scientific advice and research is in 2008-09; for what purposes the equivalent budget for 2007-08 was used; and how many people employed in her Department have a science or engineering degree.

Sadiq Khan: The Department's budget for scientific advice and research (we have taken this question to include economic and social research), in 2008-09 is 27.2 million. In 2007-08, the equivalent spend was 24.9 million. The purposes for which this spend was used cover hundreds of individual projects. We do however maintain details of research projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government (and its predecessors), which is available from our research database (RD) at:
	http://www.rmd.communities.gov.uk/
	This database provides information on projects commissioned by Communities and Local Government and predecessor Departments going back to 30 November 2001. This includes the subject and cost of each research contract.
	The Department does not maintain records of those staff who hold a science or engineering degree. To gather this information would involve a Department-wide survey and would incur disproportionate costs in terms of staff time.

Empty Property: Bedfordshire

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many empty homes there were in South Bedfordshire at the most recent date of counting; and what number of these homes were empty on a long-term basis.

Iain Wright: In October 2008, South Bedfordshire council reported there were 1,396 empty dwellings in their area, of which 518 were regarded as long-term empty dwellings.

Fire Prevention

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the change in the number of dedicated fire safety officers has been since the coming into effect of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Sadiq Khan: It is for individual fire and rescue authorities to plan and resource the delivery of their audit and enforcement responsibilities under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. We do not collect this information centrally.

Fire Prevention

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department has provided to local fire authorities on standards for implementing the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Sadiq Khan: To help responsible persons comply with the provisions of the order, my Department has made available a suite of fire safety risk assessment documents to explain the risk assessment process and offer detailed advice on what technical fire precautions are likely to deliver an acceptable level of fire safety. While the order is non-prescriptive the guidance refers, where appropriate, to British Standards and standards provided by other bodies.
	This guidance is not aimed at FRAs directly. However, we expect them to have regard to its availability as a tool to assist responsible persons in discharging their duties under the order. The extent to which individual premises comply with the provisions of the order by delivering an adequate level of fire safety to minimise the risk to life in the event of a fire is a matter of professional judgment based on an appropriate level of technical fire safety expertise.

Housing: Construction

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many affordable homes have been started in each London local authority area since 2005.

Iain Wright: The following table shows affordable homes started in each London borough since 2005-06.
	The figures for affordable housing starts are from P2 house building returns to CLG from local authorities, and the National House Building Council building control figures. The tenure of the dwelling may not be known when starts are recorded, as some RSL starts may be recorded as private enterprise on the P2 returns.
	PSA20 indicator 3 measures gross affordable housing supply, using housing completions and acquisitions figures. Figures showing the number of affordable homes provided (completions and acquisitions) each year are shown in live tables 1000 to 1009 on the CLG website.
	
		
			  Affordable homes started in each London borough since 2005 
			   Starts 2005-06  Starts 2006-07  Starts 2007-08 
			  London boroughs  Registered social landlords  Local authorities  Total affordable homes  Registered social landlords  Local authorities  Total affordable homes  Registered social landlords  Local authorities  Total affordable homes 
			 Barking and Dagenham 375 0 375 18 0 18 (1) 0 0 
			 Barnet 175 0 175 330 0 330 285 0 285 
			 Bexley 100 0 100 184 0 184 47 0 47 
			 Brent (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 
			 Bromley (1) 0 0 67 0 67 29 0 29 
			 Camden 309 0 309 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Croydon 206 0 206 237 0 237 193 0 193 
			 Ealing 616 0 616 506 0 506 297 0 297 
			 Enfield 333 0 333 213 0 213 160 0 160 
			 Greenwich 233 0 233 61 0 61 (1) 0 0 
			 Hackney 133 0 133 144 0 144 11 0 11 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 20 0 20 204 0 204 24 0 24 
			 Haringey (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 89 0 89 
			 Harrow 0 0 0 44 0 44 61 0 61 
			 Havering 115 0 115 129 0 129 121 0 121 
			 Hillingdon 0 35 35 257 0 257 72 21 93 
			 Hounslow 515 0 515 1,161 0 1,161 504 0 504 
			 Islington 59 0 59 216 0 216 170 0 170 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Kingston upon Thames 0 0 0 56 0 56 0 0 0 
			 Lambeth 239 0 239 270 0 270 156 0 156 
			 Lewisham 340 0 340 288 0 288 113 0 113 
			 Merton 190 0 190 478 0 478 125 0 125 
			 Newham (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 
			 Redbridge 70 0 70 0 0 0 38 0 38 
			 Richmond upon Thames (1) 0 0 (1) 0 0 16 0 16 
			 Southwark 189 0 189 331 0 331 33 0 33 
			 Sutton 0 0 0 26 0 26 250 0 250 
			 Tower Hamlets 282 0 282 101 0 101 133 0 133 
			 Waltham Forest 28 0 28 74 0 74 0 0 0 
			 Wandsworth 72 0 72 10 0 10 32 0 32 
			 Westminster 107 0 107 (1) 0 0 17 0 17 
			 (1 )Incomplete data.  Note: Figures for starts are as reported by local authorities and the National House-Building Council; no figure is given where a borough has one or more missing quarterly returns as the full level of house building activity in the local area is not known.  Source: Local authority P2 monthly and quarterly house building and National House-Building Council returns submitted to CLG.

Housing: Sustainable Development

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many  (a) six,  (b) five,  (c) four,  (d) three,  (e) two and  (f) one star homes have been built since the introduction of the Code for Sustainable Homes.

Iain Wright: holding answer 20 January 2009
	 Due to the time lag from when homes are registered, designed, built and assessed against the Code for Sustainable Homes there are relatively few completed code homes at present. As of 31 January 2009 there were 34 homes that had received code post construction certificates, of these, two were code level 5, four at code level 4, 27 at code level 3 and one at code level 2. There are 843 homes that have received design stage certificatessome of these homes may well have been built but have yet to obtain a post construction certificate.

Landlords: Mortgages

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on the availability of mortgage finance to private landlords.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government Ministers meet colleagues across government regularly to discuss all aspects of housing policy.
	Mortgage finance is a matter for HM Treasury. Ministers are in regular contact with mortgage lenders and landlord associations. We welcome access to mortgage finance for responsible private landlords.

Members: Correspondence

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to reply to the letter of 15 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Wycombe on details of the Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder fund.

Hazel Blears: I have now replied to the hon. Member's letter.

Migration Trust Fund

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding has been allocated from the Migration Trust Fund in 2008; and to which projects.

Sadiq Khan: In February 2008, we announced a fund to manage the transitional impacts of migration which will be available to public services to promote innovative ways of working in this area. The fund will raise tens of millions of pounds and will start from April 2009.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 113-4W, on homelessness, how much has been allocated to each eligible local authority as part of the Mortgage Rescue Scheme; what her definition of vulnerable homeowners is; how many applications for funding have been  (a) made to the rescue scheme and  (b) granted support; when the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme will be operational; what role local authorities will play in its delivery; what the eligibility criteria of the rescue scheme are; and if she will make a statement.

Margaret Beckett: The 200 million Government Mortgage Rescue Scheme has been operational across the country since 1 January 2009. Under the scheme's financial structure, funding is not allocated directly to local authorities. Instead, it is drawn down by participating registered social landlord (RSL) providers after negotiations have take place with a household's lender and once a debt management plan has been agreed, the property has been visited and a decision has been taken on the most appropriate form of rescue. In addition, all English local authorities receive a homelessness grant, which forms part of their strategic responsibility to tackle and prevent homelessness effectively.
	The scheme is targeted at vulnerable households who fall within one of three priority need categories and who would be owed a duty by a local authority to secure accommodation under the homelessness legislation (section 189(l)(a)-(c) of the Housing Act 1996) if they became homeless.
	The three priority need categories are that the homeowner must be:
	1. a person with whom dependent children reside or might reasonably be expected to reside;
	2. a pregnant woman or a person with whom she resides or might reasonably be expected to reside; or
	3. a person who is vulnerable as a result of old age, mental illness or handicap or physical disability or other special reason, or with whom such a person resides or might reasonably be expected to reside.
	An informal telephone survey of 60 local authorities was conducted by officials at Communities and Local Government on 18 February 2009. This showed that over 500 applications had been made, resulting in approximately 180 cases meeting the eligibility criteria. Formal monitoring arrangements for all local authorities will be in place this month.
	We expect the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme to be open for business with the first lenders in April now that the Banking Act, which is the legislative vehicle we have used to enable us to do this, has gained Royal Assent and the scheme design has been confirmed. The draft Master Guarantee is currently being agreed with lenders. This is a lender-led scheme so we do not expect local authorities to play a direct role in its delivery. The full eligibility criteria are available at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/buyingselling/mortgagesupportscheme/

Planning

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when she plans to respond to the 2006 consultation on the General Permitted Development Order 1995 (Demolition of Sports Buildings);
	(2)  if she will bring forward proposals to  (a) replace the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 and  (b) revise Planning Policy Guidance 17 to provide for the protection of sports buildings from demolition and redevelopment under the planning system.

Iain Wright: A summary of responses to the 2006 consultation on a proposal to make demolition of sports buildings subject to planning permission, has been published on the CLG website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/demolitionsportsbuildings
	The responses were largely in favour of the proposal and we are aiming to introduce the necessary amendments to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995, and the Town and Country Planning (DemolitionDescription of Buildings) Direction 1995, later this year.
	Planning Policy Guidance (PPG) Note 17 already states that sport and recreational buildings (and land) should not be built on unless an assessment has been undertaken which has clearly shown the buildings to be surplus to requirements.

Planning Permission: Wanstead

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government who  (a) was consulted and  (b) made representations to her Department before her decision to lift the Article 4 direction in relation to Chepstow, 49 Leicester Road, Wanstead in 2008.

Iain Wright: This Article 4 direction was submitted by the London borough of Redbridge under the provisions of Article 5(4) of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995. The decision not to confirm the direction was made by the Government office for London, which is the normal practice in such cases and consultations are not undertaken before making such a decision. Two representations were received, on behalf of a developer and a local residents' association, and were taken into account before the decision was made.

Private Rented Housing

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent assessment she has made of  (a) the contribution of the private rented sector to meeting housing need and  (b) the availability of mortgage finance for the provision of privately-rented accommodation.

Iain Wright: Last year the Government commissioned an independent review of the private rented sector from Julie Rugg and David Rhodes of the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York. One of the key elements of the terms of reference for the review was the role of the sector in meeting housing need and its ability to do so in the future. The review findings were reported in October last year and we are considering our response.
	Mortgage finance is a matter for HM Treasury. Ministers are in regular contact with mortgage lenders and landlord associations. We welcome access to mortgage finance for responsible private landlords.

Recreation Spaces: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the recommended amount of public open space is in each of the principal seaside towns in England by  (a) ward and  (b) lower layer super output area.

Iain Wright: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 2 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1267W.

Rents

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate her Department has made of the number of persons entitled to claim housing benefit where rents are set in line with her Department's guideline rent changes; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Local authorities set rent levels having regard to Housing Revenue Account determinations, existing rent levels, and local financial and affordability issues. The Department has not estimated the number of persons who might be entitled to housing benefit in 2009-10.

Rents: Arrears

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what proportion of  (a) local authority and  (b) registered social landlord tenants were estimated to be in rent arrears in (i) England, (ii) each English region and (iii) each London local authority area in the most recent quarter for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.

Rents: Arrears

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of registered social landlords of shared ownership purchasers were in arrears in respect of either rent or service charges in each English region in each quarter since December 2007.

Iain Wright: The information requested is not held centrally.

Repossession Orders

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many properties in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency were repossessed in each year since 2004.

Iain Wright: There are two independent sources of data on actual numbers of mortgage possessions: The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Financial Services Authority. However both are only available for the United Kingdom as a whole.
	The Council of Mortgage Lenders data are available on their website at:
	http://www.cml.org.uk/cml/media/press/2108
	The Financial Services Authority data are available on their website at:
	http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Doing/Regulated/Returns/IRR/statistics/

Trading Funds

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consultation her Department has conducted with external organisations as part of the review of Government Trading Funds.

Iain Wright: Shareholder Executive officials with responsibility for Ordnance Survey were represented on the Trading Funds Assessment Steering Group alongside officials from other Trading Fund owner Departments, Shareholder Executive, HM Treasury, OFT and OPSI.
	As part of the Trading Funds Assessment, officials held regular discussions with interested public, private and third sector organisations.

Trading Funds

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the definition of Ordnance Survey's Public Tasks as part of the Government's Trading Fund Review; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Trading Funds Assessment intended to clarify Government policy on re-use of information produced by a group of Trading Fundsincluding the Ordnance Surveyboth within and outside their public task.
	Specific changes to Trading Funds' public tasks were not considered as part of the Assessment. If any redefinition of Ordnance Survey's public task is undertaken as a result of the Trading Funds Assessment, it will be done so in close discussion with all interested parties, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Trading Funds

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions her Department has had with the Shareholder Executive as part of the Government's Trading Fund Review; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: Officials from Communities and Local Government (CLG) worked very closely with the Shareholder Executive on the Trading Funds Assessment. In the case of Ordnance Survey, CLG delegated responsibility to Shareholder Executive for advising Ministers directly on shareholding and financial issues but this is done in close communication with CLG officials.
	Shareholder Executive officials with responsibility for Ordnance Survey were represented on the Trading Funds Assessment Steering Group. There were regular discussions on the Assessment between CLG and Shareholder Executive officials and CLG Ministers

Travelling People: Caravan Sites

Bob Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 10 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1844W, on Travelling people: caravan sites, what targets for the number of pitches to be provided by each local authority have been included in the most recent draft regional spatial strategies.

Iain Wright: Information illustrating the number of pitches each local authority within a region has been allocated by their respective RSSs can be found by accessing the websites provided as follows.
	 North East
	http://www.gos.gov.uk/gone/planning/regional_planning/
	 North West
	http://www.gos.gov.uk/gonw/Planning/RegionalPlanning/
	 Yorkshire and Humber
	http://www.yhassembly.gov.uk/News/2007/Assembly%20welcomes%20publication%20of%20RSS% 20panel%20report
	 East Midlands
	http://www.gos.gov.uk/goem/psc/suscom/rss/eastmidlandsplan/
	 West Midlands
	http://www.wmra.gov.uk/page.asp?id=47
	 East of England
	http://www.eera.gov.uk/category.asp?cat=120
	 South East
	http://www.southeast-ra.gov.uk/southeastplan/plan/view_plan.html
	 South West
	http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=836
	 London
	http://www.london.gov.uk/thelondonplan/

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Young People

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many 18 to 21 year-olds were admitted to each  (a) hospital and  (b) university hospital following alcohol-related incidents in each of the last 10 years.

Dawn Primarolo: Data on the number of alcohol-related finished hospital admissions in England for 18 to 21-year-olds has been placed in the Library.
	Data is only available from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and that data for admitted patients for 2007-08 has not yet been released but should be available next month. The Department will arrange for the information to be placed in the Library.

Ambulance Services: East of England

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the average time taken by an ambulance in the East Anglia Ambulance Service to travel from the scene of an incident to hospital in each of the last five years.

Ben Bradshaw: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	Data on performance against ambulance response time targets, which measure the amount of time before the ambulance reaches the scene of the incident, is published annually by the NHS Information Centre in the statistical bulletin Ambulance Services England. The latest bulletin, Ambulance Services, England 2007-08, has already been placed in the Library and is available at the following link:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/audits-and-performance/ambulance/ambulance-services-england-2007-08

Arthritis: Health Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to encourage the adoption of individualised care plans to provide social, psychological and lifestyle advice and clinical support for patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.

Ann Keen: We have no plans to encourage the adoption of care plans which provide social, psychological and lifestyle advice, this is discretionary.
	Successful care planning is person-centred and recognises that the patient's needs will change over time. It may be simple or complex depending on the medical condition and the range of services needed. The care plan is owned by the person, and the relevant multidisciplinary team members need to review it regularly with them.
	The care planning process is likely to include an assessment of all immediate and potential future health and social care needs, including housing, transport, benefits, employment, and health promotion issues such as weight management and smoking cessation.

Arthritis: Health Services

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to improve  (a) education for primary healthcare professionals,  (b) diagnostic procedures and  (c) referral times for the treatment and long-term care of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have no plans to develop diagnostic procedures, or referral times for treatment, specifically for those with rheumatoid arthritis. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence produced guidance on the management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults in February 2009. This guidance includes detailed advice for health professionals on the most appropriate diagnostic tests and investigations, referral to specialist services, and treatment regimes, for patients with this condition.
	The development of education for health care professionals is the responsibility of the Royal Colleges.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 15-16WS, on the personal expenses allowance, what level of personal expenses allowance persons in adult social care are entitled to; what plans he has to increase the personal expenses allowance in April; if he will make a provision for a substantial increase; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The personal expenses allowance (PEA), which is the minimum amount of a care home resident's own money he or she must be left with after charges for residential care have been deducted, is currently 21.15 per week. It is raised annually in line with the increase in average earnings to ensure it retains its value. From 6 April, it will increase to 21.90.
	As my statement of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 15-16WS, made clear, the estimated cost of raising the PEA to 40 a week, for example, is 250 million a year. None of this extra expenditure would increase the availability, choice or quality of care services, or support the transformation of adult social care provision. Focusing finite social care resources on these aims must remain our priority.
	In the longer term, the Government are committed to reforming the care and support system. The forthcoming Green Paper on the future of care and support will consider how care should be funded in the future.

Care Homes: Fees and Charges

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent from the public purse on free nursing care for care home residents in each year since 2003.

Phil Hope: Data on the spending on free nursing care for care home residents are not collected centrally.

Clinical Physiologists: Regulation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what measures are in place to regulate the operation of clinical physiologists.

Ben Bradshaw: Proposals for the statutory regulation of clinical physiologists will be resolved as part of a separate consultation, as outlined in The Future of the Healthcare Science Workforce Modernising Scientific Careers: The Next Steps: A Consultation published in November 2008. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
	Plans for a separate consultation on proposals for regulation, will be announced in due course.

Dementia

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 24 February 2009,  Official Report, column 640W, on dementia, where the pilot will take place; how much his Department will spend on the pilot; how many advisers will be employed to work on the pilot; by what process such advisers will be recruited; what qualifications he expects such advisers to hold; and how the outcomes of the pilot will be evaluated.

Phil Hope: The Department has allocated 4.5 million to fund demonstration and evaluation of dementia advisers. An announcement about the nature and number of the demonstrator sites will be made in the near future. The Department will commission an evaluation of the demonstrator sites to determine lessons learnt for implementation of the National Dementia Strategy.

Dental Services: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the provision of NHS dentistry in  (a) Hertfordshire and  (b) Dacorum.

Ann Keen: The numbers of courses of treatments (CoTs) and units of dental activity (UDAs) performed by national health service dentists, in England, are available in Table C6 of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics, Quarter 2: 30 September 2008 report. Information is available for 2006-07 and quarterly since 2007-08. Information is provided by primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA).
	This report, published on 26 February 2009, has been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentalstats0809q2
	Information for the first two quarters of 2008-09 remain provisional as they are revised in each subsequent report to account for treatments reported too late for inclusion in the previous quarterly report. In the end of year report, published in the August following the end of the financial year, all quarterly activity data are revised for a final time.
	Further information about CoTs and UDAs is contained in the above report.
	The numbers of dentists with NHS activity during the years ending 31 March, 2007 and 2008 are available in Table Gl of Annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England: 2007-08 report. Information is provided by PCT and SHA. This report, published on 21 August 2008, has already been placed in the Library and is also available on the NHS Information Centre website at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0708
	Following a recent consultation exercise, this measure is based on a revised methodology and therefore supersedes previously published workforce figures relating to the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006. It is not comparable to the information collected under the old contractual arrangements. This revised methodology counted the number of dental performers with NHS activity recorded via FP17 claim forms in each year ending 31 March.
	Workforce figures relate to headcounts and do not differentiate between full-time and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	Information in both reports is based on the PCT boundaries which came into effect on 1 October 2006.

Departmental Scientists

Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his Department's budget for scientific advice and research is in 2008-09; for what purposes the equivalent budget for 2007-08 was used; and how many people employed in his Department have a science or engineering degree.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department's research and development budget for the national health service for 2008-09 is 792 million and for its policy research programme is 33 million. The Department has no separately identifiable budget attributable to scientific advice.
	The NHS research and development budget provides the means of delivery of the Government's health research strategy and in 2007-08 was in part used to support the work of the National Institute for Health Research and in part allocated to NHS trusts. The policy research programme provides the evidence base for policy development and for the evaluation of policy implementation in health and social care.
	The Department does not collate data on the type of academic qualifications held by its staff.

Disabled: Expenditure

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent from the public purse on  (a) the Supporting People Fund,  (b) continuing health care,  (c) independent living funds,  (d) the disabilities facilities grant,  (e) funding under section 256 of the National Health Service Act 2006,  (f) funding under section 28A of the National Health Service Act 1997,  (g) disability support transport and  (h) other disability support services in each year since 1997.

Phil Hope: 'Continuing health and social care' is a package of care that involves services from both the national health service and social care and based on an individual's assessed healthcare (mental or physical) needs. The amount that has been spent in this area alone is not collected centrally.
	To calculate the amount of public funding that has gone to fund projects and initiatives under section 256 of the National Health Service Act 2006, section 28A of the National Health Service Act 1997, disability support (for) transport and other disability support services in each year since 1997 would incur disproportionate costs as the information is not collected centrally.

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what treatment centres for alcohol and drug misuse there are in England.

Dawn Primarolo: A centrally-held record exists only for those agencies which report to the national drug treatment monitoring system which includes the national Alcohol Treatment Monitoring System. There is known to be an element of under-reporting. The agencies are listed by locality at:
	www.ndtms.net

Drugs: Rehabilitation

Mike Wood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the average waiting time for a methadone prescription was in each primary care trust in England in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what the average waiting time was for referral of a drug user for residential treatment in each primary care trust in England in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse collects data on waiting times via the national drug treatment monitoring system. These data are collected in the form of the percentage of people who waited under and over three weeks to access a particular drug treatment intervention.
	A table giving average waiting times figures for specialist and general practitioner prescribing, in-patient treatment and residential rehabilitation, as a first and subsequent intervention for each local drug partnership in England has been placed in the Library.

Economic Situation

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) summits,  (b) conferences and  (c) seminars his Department has hosted since January 2008 at which a primary subject for discussion was the impact of the economic situation on matters within his Department's responsibility.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department routinely considers the impact of the economic situation on health and social care and engages on this with a range of organisations including the national health service and other Government departments as appropriate.
	Responding to the economic situation is a priority for the Government. Summits, conferences and seminars are some of the methods used to engage stakeholders in this work and ensure action is coordinated and effective.

Food: Jersey

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions officials from the Food Standards Agency have had with officials in Jersey on the implications of the review of the Jersey food hygiene law for foodstuffs exported from Jersey to the UK; and when they expect the review to be completed.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has not had any discussions with officials in Jersey regarding their review of their food hygiene legislation.

General Practitioners

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what data his Department collects on the number of  (a) requests for house calls by GPs and  (b) house calls made by GPs.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not routinely collect the information requested. Copies of studies commissioned by the Department on changing workload patterns for general practice have been placed in the Library.

Health Services: Republic of Ireland

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 216-17W, on health services: Republic of Ireland, which aspects of the claims process prevent determining whether previous payments the Government has made to the Republic of Ireland were overpayments.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the terms of the bilateral agreement, the United Kingdom makes payments to the Republic of Ireland based on average costs. This is in line with European Union regulations. As calculating average costs and having them agreed in Brussels is a lengthy process, the UK makes payments based on estimates until the process is complete. Until average costs for previous years are formally agreed and current bilateral discussions are completed, it is not possible to establish whether any previous payments the UK has made, represent overpayments.

Health Services: Republic of Ireland

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 216-17W, on health services: Republic of Ireland, when bilateral discussions started; and when they will be completed.

Dawn Primarolo: Bilateral discussions between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have been ongoing over the last two years. It is hoped that agreement on the substantive points of discussion will be reached before the end of this year.

Health Services: Republic of Ireland

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 216-17W, on health services: Republic of Ireland, what the new evidence which has come to light on payments to be made under the agreement is.

Dawn Primarolo: Under the terms of the bilateral agreement, the United Kingdom makes payments for a number of pensioners in the Republic of Ireland. Part of the bilateral discussions have been about effectively managing demographic changes. For example, due to changes in working history, far more people have an entitlement to an Irish pension. This results in a shift in the liability for healthcare costs.

Learning Disability: Social Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to ensure that his Department's funding allocation for social care in the next comprehensive spending review period is adequate to meet the needs of adults with a learning disability.

Phil Hope: Her Majesty's Treasury have yet to announce the timing of the next spending review and make available the associated guidance. Within the remit given to us by the guidance, my Department plans to make the best possible case for adequate funding for all adults with social care needsincluding those with a learning disabilitybased on available data and evidence.
	Decisions on the outcome of spending reviews reflect priorities across the whole of Government, including the overall fiscal position.

Learning Disability: Social Services

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding he plans to transfer from the NHS to local government in the transfer to local authority social services departments of commissioning responsibilities for social care for people with learning disabilities.

Phil Hope: The transfer of specialist social care funding for people with learning disabilities will be made locally from primary care trusts (PCTs) to local authorities for the final two years of this spending review period, 2009-10 and 2010-11.
	The figure will be based on returns made to the Department by 1 December 2008 with final agreement between PCTs and local authorities submitted to the Department from all areas by 31 March 2009.

Medicine: Channel Islands

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what analysis the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has made of the compatibility of the Medicines (Human and Veterinary) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008 with the requirements of the European Medicines Directive; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 4 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1360W, on dietary supplements: EU law, what the outcome of the meeting between officials from Jersey and officials from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency on 11 February 2009 to discuss implementation of the Medicines Directive in Jersey was; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has reviewed the Medicines (Human and Veterinary) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law 2008 in respect of human medicinal products and believes that it is not consistent with the Medicines Directive 2001/83/EC. The meeting held on 11 February 2009 between officials from Jersey and officials from the MHRA opened discussions on the implementation of the Medicines Directive in Jersey, these discussions are ongoing.

Mental Health Services

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the drop out rate for those who started a course of cognitive behavioural therapy was in each of the last three years;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the merits of the administration of cognitive behavioural therapy treatments by clinical psychologists;
	(3)  how many cognitive behavioural therapy sessions the NHS provided on average to persons with  (a) a mild disorder and  (b) a serious disorder in the last 12 months.

Phil Hope: Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services consist of both qualified staff and trainees, the latter are required to attend state of the art training in the delivery of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and are supervised by experienced psychological therapists with expertise in this therapy.
	Current clinical psychology training courses are required to provide training in two evidence-based psychological therapies, one of which must be CBT. However, clinical psychologists trained in the past may not be sufficiently competent to deliver CBT to the standards required of IAPT. Therefore, before staff are employed in Improving Access to Psychological Therapy services and regardless of their professional background their previous training and experience is assessed to ensure that they are competent to provide cognitive behavioural therapy and supervise trainees; these assessments are reviewed by regional clinical leads.
	Many different professions are trained to deliver cognitive behaviour therapy including counsellors, nurses, occupational therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, as well as counselling and clinical psychologists. In 2008, 21 per cent. of qualified staff employed in IAPT service were clinical psychologists.
	The IAPT programme has been proactive in recruiting newly qualified clinical psychologists as trainees therapists within IAPT services and 10 per cent. of high intensity trainees were clinical psychology graduates in 2008.
	Advertisements will shortly be issued to appeal to those graduating this summer. Furthermore, clinical psychology courses are reviewing with the Deaneries how they might fulfil the requirements of IAPT in the future.
	Information on average numbers of cognitive behaviour therapy sessions and drop out rates has not been collated nationally. New IAPT services collect the IAPT minimum data set which includes clinical outcomes measures and enables services manage patient care and monitor the flow of patients through services. The programme is currently developing a national data standard to enable the national collation of this data by 2011.

Mental Health Services: Elderly

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent discussions he has had with  (a) NHS organisations and  (b) older people's charities on (i) the commissioning of specialist in-reach services from older people's mental health teams and (ii) the provision of mental health services for older people; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The Department has not held any recent discussions with national health service organisations and older people's charities on the commissioning of specialist in-reach services from older people's mental health teams and the provision of mental health services for older people.

Mesothelioma: Research

Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department is spending on research on mesothelioma in 2008-09.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave the right hon. Member for Leeds, West (John Battle) on 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2082W.

NHS Treatment Centres: Southampton

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on legal services in relation to the contract for the new independent sector treatment centre in Southampton.

Ben Bradshaw: Through the financial years 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the Department has spent approximately 1 million on legal services for the Phase 2 independent sector treatment centre Hampshire and Isle of Wight scheme. This includes the contract for Southampton NHS Treatment Centre at the Royal Southampton Hospital and the Lymington part of the scheme which was withdrawn as a result of the revalidation process.
	It is not possible to separate the costs for the Southampton contract itself, but legal costs for the entire scheme included advice on the procurement process, contract drafting and extensive negotiation with bidders. The proportion of legal costs to the contract value is in line with other public sector contracts with the private sector.

NHS Treatment Centres: Southampton

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many operations took place at the independent sector treatment centre in Southampton in each month since its establishment.

Ben Bradshaw: The number of operations by month carried out at Southampton Independent Sector Treatment Centre since its opening is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of operations carried out at Southampton ISTC 
			   Month  Number of operations 
			 2008 (1)November 581 
			 2008 December 442 
			 2009 January 553 
			 (1) Includes activity undertaken in October 2008

NHS: Meals

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of meals were recorded as untouched in Estates Return Information Collection data for each NHS organisation in England in each year since 2002-03.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	Food is left untouched or unserved for a variety of reasons, but generally this through the need to provide sufficient food to ensure a choice is available or through changing requirements of patients after the food orders have been made, for example changed clinical status, being discharged, moved or absent for treatment.
	Since 2004-05, the data provided have not been collected on a mandatory basis and therefore will not be complete.
	The data have been provided by national health service organisations to the Department and have not been amended centrally. The completeness and accuracy of these data are the responsibility of the provider organisation. Where no data or zero data was provided, the NHS trust has been omitted for brevity.

NHS: Research

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what  (a) medical research and  (b) research on the development of medical treatment is being funded by the Department of Health.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department funds research and development through the National Institute for Health Research, a virtual institute set up to deliver the Government's health research strategy. The Institute provides the national health service infrastructure needed to promote patient involvement in health research and to translate scientific discoveries into new treatments; and supports programmes under which research focussed on improving health and care is commissioned. Details can be found at:
	www.nihr.ac.uk

NHS: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date his Department commissioned Sheffield University to conduct research on the effects of the EU working time directive on the NHS; on what date the completed report was submitted to his Department; and if he will place in the Library a copy of that report.

Ann Keen: In November 2008, Sheffield university was commissioned by the Department to undertake a study on the effects of the European working time directive on the national health service.
	The report was delivered 4 March 2009 to the Department. The Department will now consider this information together with the partner organisations who jointly commissioned the work and publish as soon as all comments are on board.

Surgery: Young People

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether a doctor is required to inform the parents of a child aged between 13 and 16 years in cases where the child requires an operation, other than termination of pregnancy; what guidance has been issued by his Department on this issue; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Doctors are not required to inform the parents of a child aged between 13 and 16 years where it is believed that the child requires an operation, and should not do so where this would breach the confidentiality of a child judged to be competent who has requested that parents should not be informed. It is best practice, however, for a doctor to encourage a child to involve parents in decisions about care and treatment, and where a child lacks competence the doctor must act in the best interests of the child, which would normally mean that parents should be told.
	Guidance on confidentiality has been provided by the Department in its publication Confidentiality: NHS Code of Practice which is available at:
	www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Informationpolicy/Patientconfidentialityandcaldicottguardians/DH_4100550
	A copy has already been placed in the Library.

Teenage Pregnancy

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of programmes intended to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave on 3 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1457W, to the hon. Member for Guildford (Anne Milton).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Antisocial Behaviour

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent steps the Government is taking to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 2 March 2009
	Tackling antisocial behaviour has been a top priority for this Government since 1997. Under leadership of the Home Office Departments across Government (including the Ministry of Justice, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, and the Department for Communities and Local Government) are working together to combat it. Over the past 10 years we have introduced a wide range of tools and powers to tackle antisocial behaviour which are being used by practitioners to bring relief to communities across the country.
	Last year we announced new initiatives for tackling ASB focusing on early intervention. These included the publication of a definitive guide for ASB practitioners and the establishment of a new action squad to help police and local agencies make full use of all the tools and powers available to tackle antisocial behaviour. We also introduced premises closure orders to allow police forces and local authorities to take action on premises which cause significant and persistent disorder or serious nuisance to the community. Strengthening the supportive and preventative tools is very important and from February this year we have introduced mandatory one-year review of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) and extended the use of individual support orders (ISOs) for young people. The NAO report on Tackling Antisocial Behaviour in 2006 confirmed that our approach works. It found that 65 per cent. of people desisted from ASB after one intervention and nine out of 10 had desisted after three interventions.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders have been issued in the last five years in Greater London; and how many persons to whom such orders have been issued have demonstrated antisocial behaviour in that period.

Alan Campbell: The latest available data on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued is up to the end of 2006. Between 2002 and 2006 there were 1,498 ASBOs issued at all courts in Greater London. Details of the behaviour that led to the ASBO being made is not recorded centrally.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect of the introduction of penalty notices for disorder on the efficiency of police forces in England and Wales.

Vernon Coaker: We have made no overall assessment. It is a matter for the individual judgment of police officers and police community support officers whether they issue such notices under the guidance and instructions issued by their chief officers taking account of the Police Operational Guidance for Penalty Notices for Disorder issued by the Home Office in March 2005.
	The Diary of a Police Officer was a study undertaken by PA Consulting in 2001 and published as Police Research Paper 149 in November 2001. Calculations based on the Diary of a Police Officer indicate that the time saved in issuing a PND compared to arrest and case preparation is about 7.6 hours for each PND issued in custody. A PND issued on the street would save 9.9 hours for each PND.

Antisocial Behaviour: Merseyside

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department holds statistics on the number of occasions Merseyside police officers have returned children aged 16 years or under to their homes after nine o'clock at night from a designated area since the introduction of this power.

Alan Campbell: Information received from Merseyside police for the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 show that 73 children aged under 16 were returned to their homes after 9 pm from a designated area in that police force area.

Asylum: Employment

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum seekers have applied for permission to work in the UK under European Directive 2003/9/EC since it was introduced; and how many of these applications have been  (a) granted and  (b) refused.

Phil Woolas: Under the provisions of the European directive for reception of asylum seekers, since 5 February 2005 asylum seekers in the United Kingdom have been able to apply for permission to work when a decision on their asylum application has been delayed for at least one year and where that delay was not caused by the applicant. When such permission to work is given, it continues only until such time as the asylum claim is finally determined.
	The requested information on the number of applications for permission to work under this arrangement and those granted and refused, is not collated and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost through examination of individual case records.

Closed Circuit Television

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of closed circuit television cameras in each local authority area in England  (a) in total,  (b) operated by or on behalf of local authorities and  (c) operated by or on behalf of police forces.

Alan Campbell: This information is not available centrally, although this is one of the areas that we will be considering through the National CCTV Strategy in the future.
	The National CCTV Strategy was published by the Home Office in October 2007 and contains 44 recommendations designed to increase and measure the effectiveness of CCTV in the United Kingdom.

Crime Prevention: International Cooperation

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has received representations seeking a review of the United Nations conventions on drug control which have been ratified by the UK; and what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of those conventions in meeting her Department's objectives on drug control.

Alan Campbell: Representations to review the United Nations conventions on drug control were made to the Government during the debate on 22 January, in another place, on the ten-year review of the 1998 United Nations Political Declaration on countering the world drug problem. On 25 February I met Baroness Meacher, Lord Cobbold and Chris Mullin MP for further discussion of the Government's approach to the ten-year review. The Government stands by the existing international drug control system under the three Conventions. It considers that the international system is a viable basis for control, and that there is no international consensus for reviewing them. The Government believes that the way forward is to build on existing international co-operation to improve the operation of the system.

Crimes of Violence

William McCrea: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the national violent crime rate was in  (a) 2006,  (b) 2007,  (c) 2008 and  (d) the last four months of 2008.

Alan Campbell: Victimisation surveys provide the best estimate of rates of violent crime because they include crimes not reported to or recorded by the police. There are separate surveys covering England and Wales (the British Crime Survey), Scotland (the Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey) and Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Crime Survey). All of these surveys report findings on the basis of financial years rather than calendar years.
	The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for England and Wales in 2006-07 and 2007-08 can be found in Table 2.02 in the latest 'Crime in England and Wales 2007-08' publication, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library.
	The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for Northern Ireland in 2006-07 and 2007-08 can be found in Table A6 in the 'Experience of Crime: Findings from the 2007-08 Northern Ireland Crime Survey' publication at the following link:
	http://www.nio.gov.uk/nics_2007-08_experience_of_crime_bulletin.pdf
	The violent crime rate per 10,000 adults for Scotland for 2005-06 can be found in Table A2.4 in the '2006 Scottish Crime and Victimisation Survey: Main Findings' publication at the following link:
	http://openscotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/200037/0053443.pdf

Departmental Databases

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of maintaining the databases owned and managed by  (a) her Department and  (b) its agencies was in (i) 2006, (ii) 2007 and (iii) 2008.

Phil Woolas: The requested information is not held by the Department.

Departmental ICT

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Robert Neill) of 12 January 2009,  Official Report, column 238W, on departmental ICT, how many staff in her Department and its agencies have the status of embedded communicators and are not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book.

Phil Woolas: The following table gives details of embedded communicators (members of the Government Communication Network) in these grades not listed in the Central Office of Information White Book. The Identity and Passport Service does not recognise communication grades.
	
		
			   Embedded communicators 
			 Home Office crime reduction and community safety group 4 
			 Office for security and counter-terrorism 5 
			 UK Border Agency 14

Departmental Internet

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a copy of her Department's website accessibility plan.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office intends to comply with Level Double-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (version 1.0 or the version 2.0 equivalent) by December 2009. A copy of the Home Office website accessibility policy is published at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/accessibility/

Departmental Sick Leave

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff in her Department were on sick leave for  (a) over 30 days,  (b) over 50 days and  (c) over 100 days in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: The Home Office management information database do not record sickness information in the categories requested and to obtain it would incur a disproportionate cost.
	All Government Departments provide sickness absence data to the Cabinet Office which is subsequently published in annual sickness statistics. Sickness absence reports which contain information on the length of absences and date back to 2003 are available on the Cabinet Office website at:
	http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/statistics/sickness.asp

Domestic Violence

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's policy is on measures to reduce rates of domestic violence.

Alan Campbell: The Government's National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan provides the framework to tackle domestic violence. The plan ensures agencies work together to identify, track and risk assess domestic violence cases and better share information so that more offenders are brought to justice, victims are protected and better supported; and further violence is prevented.
	One of the key outcomes in our National Domestic Violence Reduction Delivery Plan is to reduce the prevalence of domestic violence, particularly in high incidence areas and/or communities. We are revisiting our delivery plan to ensure a greater focus on prevention. An example would be exploring how to change attitudes and behaviours of key audiences.
	One initiative which is currently being promoted through the school curriculum provides scope for education on addressing the underlying causes of violence and abuse relationships. One example is SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning), which helps children develop their capacity to empathise, show respect and form positive relationships with other people. This can be expected to apply to any form of violent behaviour and thus prevent future incidences of domestic violence.

Domestic Violence: Females

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female victims of  (a) murder and  (b) manslaughter as a result of domestic violence there have been in each year since 2002.

Alan Campbell: Available data relate to currently recorded offences of homicide where the victim's relationship to the principal suspect is 'partner or ex-partner' and were published in table 1.05 of Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007/08 (HOSB 02/09).
	
		
			  Offences currently( 1)  recorded as homicide where victim is female and relationship to principal suspect is 'partner or ex-partner', England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2007-08( 2, 3) 
			   Number 
			 2002-03 106 
			 2003-04 96 
			 2004-05 105 
			 2005-06 89 
			 2006-07 87 
			 2007-08 72 
			 (1) As at 4 November 2008, figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Offences are shown according to the year in which they were initially recorded as homicide, which is not necessarily the year in which the offence took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3) Data for 2008-09 are not yet published.

Domestic Violence: Offences Against Children

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children under the age of 16 years have been  (a) murdered by their parents or carers and  (b) subject to manslaughter as a result of domestic violence in each year since 2002.

Alan Campbell: Available data relate to currently recorded offences of homicide where the victim's relationship to the principal suspect is 'son or daughter', and were published in table 1.04 of 'Homicides, Firearm Offences and Intimate Violence 2007-08' (HOSB 02/09).
	
		
			  Offences currently( 1)  recorded as homicide where victim is aged under 16 years and relationship to principal suspect is 'son or daughter': England and Wales, 2002-03 to 2007-08( 2, 3) 
			  Year( 2)  Number 
			 2002-03 51 
			 2003-04 34 
			 2004-05 30 
			 2005-06 25 
			 2006-07 35 
			 2007-08 43 
			 (1) As at 4 November 2008; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2 )Offences are shown according to the year in which they were initially recorded as homicide, which is not necessarily the year in which the offence took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3 )Data for 2008-09 are not yet published.

Drugs: Crime

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice she has sought from addiction psychiatrists in formulating her policy on drug misuse.

Alan Campbell: The Government's drug strategy Drugs: protecting families and communities was published on 27 February 2008. The development of the strategy was informed by formal consultation of the public and experts in issues relating to drug misuse. The consultation document Drugs: Our Community, Your Say was launched on 25 July 2007, and the consultation period closed on 19 October 2007.
	The Home Office received 1,001 formal written responses to the questions in the full consultation document and the shorter consultation leaflet. Responses were received from a wide range of bodies, including primary care trusts, mental health trusts, treatment services, and voluntary and community sector organisations, such as the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA). A full list of organisations providing formal responses to the consultation is included as an appendix in the consultation report, which is available to download at:
	http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/ipsos-moh-report
	While addiction psychiatrists were not explicitly targeted through the consultation process, we can be confident that opportunities were provided for their views to have been represented in the returns received from those organisations responding to the consultation. The Home Office continues to engage experts in a range of fields through regular policy seminars covering issues across the full breadth of the strategy.

Drugs: Misuse

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department allocated for programmes to counter the misuse of illegal drugs in each year since 1997; and whether she plans to increase the funding available for such programmes.

Alan Campbell: Home Office direct investment in programmes to counter the misuse of illegal drugs and to reduce the harm caused by their use is identified in the Home Office Departmental Report. Figures for each year since 2000-01 are set out in the table.
	These figures do not take account of complementary mainstream funding made available by the Home Office which local partnerships draw upon to support delivery of the drug strategy. They form only one element of total Government labelled expenditure on the drug strategy, which in 2008-09 is almost 1 billion. Overall total Government labelled expenditure on the drug strategy has continued to rise since 2000-01.
	Changes in the classification of funding in Spending Review 2000 mean that comparison with previous years is not possible.
	
		
			  Home Office departmental report 2008: total expenditure by the Home Office on drugs 
			  000 
			   Resource  Capital 
			  Outturn   
			 2001-02 1,825 0 
			 2002-03 80,169 0 
			 2003-04 96,351 0 
			 2004-05 206,904 2,174 
			 2005-06 200,382 800 
			 2006-07 211,472 20,262 
			
			  Estimated outturn   
			 2007-08 206,836 4,500 
			
			  Plan   
			 2008-09 188,571 1,500 
			 2009-10 178,249 1,500 
			 2010-11 177,827 1,500

Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many non-British citizens have been convicted and subsequently imprisoned in relation to human trafficking offences in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: Figures from the UK Human Trafficking Centre show a total of 92 foreign nationals have been convicted and imprisoned for the offence of human trafficking.

Kent

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much  (a) revenue payment,  (b) capital grant and  (c) supported borrowing funding has been made available by her Department to (i) Kent county council, (ii) Thanet district council and (iii) Dover district council in 2008-09; and how much such funding is planned for 2009-10 in each case.

Phil Woolas: The following information conveys the structural funding provided to local councils; it does not include any ad hoc grants paid to specific local councils for individual projects. To provide information to this level would incur disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Local authority  Funding type  Fund  2008-09 ()  Planned 2009-10 () 
			 Kent county council Revenue payment Basic command unit fund 840,965 840,965 
			 Kent county council Revenue payment Area based grant 1,984,100 1,984,100 
			 Kent county council Revenue payment Drug intervention programme 1,406,770 (1) 
			 Thanet district council Revenue payment Basic command unit fund 79,969 79,969 
			 Kent county council Capital grant Safer stronger communities fund 514,269 514,269 
			 (1) Not yet known. 
		
	
	A breakdown of other allocations to Thanet district council and allocations to Dover district council are not retained by the Home Office.
	No supported borrowing funding has been provided to Kent county council or its constituent district councils by the Home Office.

Learning Disability: Females

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will bring forward proposals to amend legislation for which her Department is responsible to remove the term 'female defective' to define a woman with learning difficulties; and if she will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The term 'female defective' was used in section 7 and section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.
	This term was considered as part of a major review of sexual offences which informed the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The review noted that this was an 'insulting and unhelpful' term which stemmed from a bygone, unscientific age (Setting the Boundaries, volume 2, published July 2000).
	Section 7 and section 9 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 were subsequently repealed when the Sexual Offences Act 2003 came into effect on 1 May 2004.

Members: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when a reply will be sent to the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood's email to the UK Border Agency of 30 January 2009 on behalf of Amina Mohammed Osman (Home Office Reference Number 01064728, acknowledgement reference B3194/9).

Phil Woolas: The UK Border Agency wrote to the right hon. Member on 26 February 2009.

Ministers: Security

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of special protection for Government Ministers and officials was in 2007-08.

Vernon Coaker: It is long established policy not to comment upon matters of personal protective security and their associated costs. Disclosure of such information could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.

Offenders: Drugs

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those arrested subsequently tested positive for Class A drugs in 2008; and what the level of voluntary take-up for treatment was.

Alan Campbell: Drug testing of offenders for specified Class A drugs (heroin and cocaine/crack) in police custody takes place in 107 BCUs. Offenders arrested or charged with a trigger offencelargely acquisitive crime related offencesare required to provide a sample to be tested.
	The average rate of positive tests for specified Class A drugs for offenders arrested or charged with a trigger offence in 2007-08 was 38.7 per cent.
	The figure for number of offenders entering treatment through DIP includes individuals from both DIP intensive areas (i.e. the 107 BCUs operating drug testing and related interventions) and the non intensive areas of the programme. Offenders from the DIP non intensive BCUs are not drug tested.
	The data on the proportion of those who test positive and voluntarily agree to treatment is not available in the format requested. The Drug Interventions Programme does not routinely hold data on those entering treatment only as a result of a positive drug test.
	In 2007-08 the number of offenders entering treatment voluntarily through the Drug Interventions Programme was 43,903.

Offensive Weapons

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of the knives used in knife crimes where convictions have been secured in the last 12 months were domestic or kitchen utensils.

Alan Campbell: Information held centrally by the Ministry of Justice does not provide details of the weapon used. This information may be held on individual court records, but due to their size and complexity are not reported to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The cost involved investigating these court records would be disproportionate.

Olympic Games: China

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of policing the Olympic torch relay in London in April 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Metropolitan Police reported to the Metropolitan Police Authority that the costs of policing the relay event was 746,000.

Police Community Support Officers: Hemel Hempstead

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers operating in Hemel Hemsptead are  (a) funded wholly by Hertfordshire Police,  (b) funded in part by Dacorum borough council and  (c) funded wholly by Dacorum borough council.

Alan Campbell: Information on contributions from local authorities to fund or part-fund PCSO posts is not collected centrally.

Police: Accountability

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government is taking to ensure transparency in the administration and operation of police forces.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 2 March 2009
	 The Government are committed to ensuring that policing is transparent and responsive and are taking a number of steps to achieve this. Key to ensuring the operation of policing meets this ambition is the Policing Pledge, which has now been implemented in all 43 forces. The pledge sets out a national standard on what the public can expect from the police, underpinned in each area by a set of local priorities, agreed by people in each neighbourhood. The views of local people must also be considered in the drawing up of local policing priorities. These priorities must be contained in the three year policing plan that each police authority is required to produce annually, explaining how they intend the force to realise their objectives.
	To bring more transparency to the administration of policing, this work will be supported by the new, more independent role or Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), which will mean that information on the way policing is administered will be available to the public in a readily accessible way for the first time.
	The Policing and Crime Bill seeks to improve both transparency and responsiveness in the operation and administration of policing by placing a new duty on police authorities to consider the views of the public in the exercise of their functions. It will also ask HMIC to consider the extent to which this duty has been met when they inspect a police authority.

Police: Deployment

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers will be deployed to police the G20 meeting in London in April; and what the estimated cost of policing the meeting is.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for the Chief Officers of the forces concerned.

Police: Firearms

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid to how many people under the compensation schemes pursuant to section 18 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997.

Alan Campbell: Over 97 million has been paid out under the schemes in respect of 72,000 claims.

Risk Analysis UK

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2009,  Official Report, column 723W, on Risk Analysis UK, what use her Department made of  (a) Kroll Associates,  (b) Risk Analysis UK Ltd. and  (c) other private investigators between June 2001 and May 2005; and for what purposes.

Phil Woolas: From records the Home Department inclusive of its agencies has had no contracts with private investigators, Kroll Associates or Risk Analysis UK Ltd. between June 2001 and May 2005.

Security: Entertainers

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of policing the wedding of Jade Goody.

Vernon Coaker: This is an operational matter for the chief constable of Essex.

Theft: Metals

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the  (a) functions,  (b) budget and  (c) timetable for operations of the National Metal Theft Crime Unit are; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 3 March 2009
	The National Metal Theft Crime Unit (NMTCU) is currently being piloted regionally. The unit will enforce compliance of scrap metal dealers with relevant existing legislation, including the Scrap Metal Dealers Act and Environmental legislation. The operation brings together all the agencies with enforcement powers around the scrap and waste recycling industry including, police, local authority, Environment Agency, HMRC, Trading Standards, Health and Safety. It will ensure compliance with existing legislation and demonstrate the positive affect of working with the legitimate businesses to reduce opportunities for thieves to dispose of their stolen material and profit from crime.
	The budget for the NMTCU pilot is 175,000.
	The regional pilot is running from 19 January to 31 March 2009.

Victim Support Schemes

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people she plans to appoint to work with the Victims' Champion; what budget her Department will provide for the Victims' Champion for 2009-10; and what arrangements have been made to enable the public to contact the Victims' Champion.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	Ms Payne is supported by a dedicated team at the Office for Criminal Justice Reform comprising one full-time and one part-time (three days per week) members of staff. The budget for the Victims' Champion for this calendar year is 60,000.
	Members of the public can contact the Victims' Champion via e-mail at:
	victimschampion@cjs.gsi.gov.uk
	or in writing c/o Office for Criminal Justice Reform. These contact details are available to the public via the Home Office, Ministry of Justice or Attorney-General's Office. The Victims' Champion is keen to hear from members of the public but will not be taking on individual cases or complaints.

JUSTICE

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times information concerning penalty notices for disorder has been disclosed in the context of seeking an anti-social behaviour order.

Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested is not available.

Antisocial Behaviour: Fixed Penalties

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps are being taken to improve the consistency of use of penalty notices for disorder across police constabularies.

Jack Straw: The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 enables the Secretary of State to issue guidance about the exercise of the discretion given to police officers when issuing penalty notices for disorder. The current guidance is being revised with the aim of clarifying the circumstances in which a PND should, and should not, be issued.

Bail

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many convictions there were for breaching conditions imposed on bail in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008;
	(2)  how many convictions there were for breach of bail in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Maria Eagle: Information showing the number of defendants found guilty at all courts for failing to surrender to bail in England and Wales for 2006 and 2007 is in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	No found guilty data can be supplied for breaching bail conditions, as they do not constitute a criminal offence.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty at all courts of failing to surrender to bail under section 6 of the Bail Act 1976, England and Wales, 2006 to 2007( 1,2) 
			   Number 
			 2006 27,564 
			 2007 22,513 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform

Bail Accommodation and Support Service

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many  (a) defendants and  (b) offenders have been placed in the ClearSprings bail hostels located in the postcode areas (i) PE4 and (ii) PE2 since 1 April 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Beaconsfield of 3 February 2009,  Official Report, column 1164W, on the Bail Accommodation and Support Service, what steps the Bail Accommodation and Support Service took to advise the hon. Member for Peterborough of the identity of the local authority ward in which the two hostels in the PE4 postcode area operated by ClearSprings were to be brought into use; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Since 1 April 2008 a total of 17 defendants and 10 offenders have been placed at the two private addresses (one of which is reserved for women) provided by ClearSprings in the post code area PE4. Since the same date a total of 18 defendants and 18 offenders have been placed at the two private addresses in post code area PE2.
	I wrote to the hon. Member on 10 April 2008 to advise him that accommodation for those on bail and Home Detention Curfew was available in his constituency and to explain the service. At that time it was not my practice to advise the Ward in which the service was located, but that has been my practice since later that month when advising hon. Members of new addresses being used in their constituency. The two properties in the PE4 postcode area, which are not hostels but private rented houses, are in Paston Ward.

Convictions

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2009,  Official Report, column 835W, on convictions, how the Government determines what methodology is used to estimate the number of people with unspent convictions.

Maria Eagle: There are insufficient data to compile accurate statistics on the number of people with unspent convictions. Therefore no methodology has been established.
	Were an attempt made to produce an accurate estimate this would require collating the sentences imposed for all convictions during the lifetimes of all those alive today (or a significant sample) and then assessing sentences against the periods specified in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act to establish whether or not the convictions have become spent.
	However, as explained in my answer of 25 February 2009,  Official Report, column 836W, centralised data do not go back far enough to provide a basis for accurate estimates (centralised data only go back to 2000 with incomplete data for 1997-99 and no centralised data available from before 1997). Furthermore the data which do exist are stored in an inappropriate format for the purpose of the necessary calculations. Any calculation would be further complicated by the fact that the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act also covers foreign convictions (where in many cases the necessary data are unobtainable). Therefore the Government have not attempted to produce statistics on this area and do not intend to do so.

Crimes of Violence

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of defendants charged with  (a) attempted murder,  (b) manslaughter and  (c) attempted rape were granted bail in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008.

Maria Eagle: It is not possible to provide the requested information in respect of these individual offences. The annual publication Criminal Statistics contains estimates of the number of defendants in certain offence groups who were bailed by the courts. The listed offences are in the Violence against the person and Sexual offences groups, for which the estimated number bailed in 2007 was 60,900 and 9,800 persons respectively (Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, table 4.10). These figures include those also held in custody for some but not the whole period of the proceedings. Data for 2008 will be available later this year.

Crimes of Violence

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many individuals were prosecuted for  (a) attempted murder,  (b) manslaughter and  (c) attempted rape in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008.

Maria Eagle: Information showing the number of persons proceeded against for attempted murder, manslaughter and attempted rape in England and Wales for 2006 and 2007 is shown in the following table. Data for 2008 will be available in the autumn of 2009.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of persons proceeded against at magistrates courts for attempted murder, manslaughter and attempted rape, England and Wales, 2006 and 2007( 1,2) 
			  Offence  2006  2007 
			 Attempted murder 357 333 
			 Manslaughter 114 105 
			 Attempted rape(3) 232 224 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Includes attempted rape of a male and female, aged under 13, under 16 and 16 or over.  Source: Evidence and Analysis UnitOffice for Criminal Justice Reform

Criminal Proceedings: Costs

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimates his Department has made of the average cost to the courts of dealing with an offence by  (a) a caution,  (b) a penalty notice for disorder and  (c) a court case.

Maria Eagle: Her Majesty's Court Service (HMCS) do not issue cautions or penalty notices. Therefore HMCS is not able to provide an average cost for these actions.
	The average cost of a court case will depend on whether it is heard in a magistrates court or Crown court. It will also depend on the amount of time taken to conclude the case and therefore is not able to calculate a generic average cost.

Departmental Absenteeism

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff of his Department were recorded absent for non-medical reasons on  (a) 2 February 2009 and  (b) 3 February 2009; what estimate he has made of the (i) cost to his Department and (ii) number of working hours lost due to such absence; and what guidance his Department issued to staff in respect of absence on these days.

Michael Wills: The Ministry of Justice does not hold records centrally of non-medical absences. Gathering data on the numbers of staff who were absent for non medical reasons on 2 February 2009 and 3 February 2009 could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
	General guidance was issued on the day to all managers and staff about the disruption caused by the extreme weather conditions where normal travel arrangements were affected by the weather. Each business area provided local advice to staff, and were then responsible for its implementation.

Departmental Consultants

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much he has budgeted to spend on external consultants in 2009.

Maria Eagle: As part of the Ministry of Justice's ongoing Performance and Efficiency Programme (PEP) we have reviewed our use of consultants, reducing them where possible and further reductions are anticipated for subsequent financial years. While general departmental budgets for 2009-10 have been agreed, specific local budgets are still being negotiated at present to incorporate PEP savings. Therefore it is not possible to provide a figure for planned consultancy spend in 2009-10.

Driving: Licensing

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many drivers were stopped and fined in each region for driving on an expired licence in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: From information held on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database it is not possible to separately identify driving with an expired licence from other driving licence offences.

Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales: Recorders

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applicants applying for the position of recorder with the Judicial Appointments Commission in 2008 were solicitors; and of these applicants how many  (a) passed the test on 10 March 2008 and  (b) were selected for appointment.

Jack Straw: In 2008, the Judicial Appointments Commission ran a selection exercise for recorder appointments in the North, North East and Wales.
	433 eligible applications were received; 89 from solicitors.
	220 of the eligible applicants were shortlisted after passing the qualifying test; 42 of these were solicitors.
	76 selections were made; seven of these were solicitors.
	Of the 433 eligible applicants, 30 were salaried judicial officers holders who were formerly solicitors; 20 of these salaried judicial officers were shortlisted after passing the qualifying test and four of these salaried judicial officers were selected.

Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales: Recorders

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applicants applying for the position of recorder with the Judicial Appointments Commission in 2008 described themselves as of  (a) white ethnicity,  (b) mixed ethnicity,  (c) Asian or Asian British ethnicity,  (d) Black or Black British ethnicity,  (e) Chinese or Chinese British ethnicity and  (f) of any other background; and how many of these applicants from each category (i) passed the test on 10 March 2008 and (ii) were selected for appointment.

Jack Straw: The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) collects and publishes data on the ethnicity of eligible applicants for judicial office and publishes statistics on the progress of black and minority ethnic (BME) applicants. Statistics relating to the recorder selection exercise for the North, East and Wales were published on the JAC website on 20 February at:
	http://www.judicialappointments.gov.uk/docs/Recorders_(Northern_North_Eastern_Wales)_2008.pdf
	The JAC does not publish statistics relating to BME applicants which further breaks down ethnicity into individual categories, as this would risk the indirect identification of individuals, due to the small numbers contained in some data categories.
	The conditions under which applicants provide diversity information include the assurance that their information will be held in confidence; that it will be used for statistical purposes only and; that it will not be used for making selection decisions. Applicants therefore have a reasonable expectation that their precise ethnic identification would remain confidential.

Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales: Recorders

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applicants applying for the position of recorder with the Judicial Appointments Commission in 2008 were female; and of these applicants how many  (a) passed the test on 10 March 2008 and  (b) were selected for appointment.

Jack Straw: In 2008, the Judicial Appointments Commission ran a selection exercise for recorder appointments in North, North Eastern and Wales.
	433 eligible applications were received; 115 were women.
	220 of those eligible applicants were shortlisted after passing the qualifying test; 57 were women.
	76 candidates were selected, of whom, 24 were women.

Judicial Appointments Commission for England and Wales: Recorders

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for the position of recorder the Judicial Appointments Commission received in 2008.

Jack Straw: In 2008, the Judicial Appointments Commission ran a selection exercise for recorder appointments in the North, North East and Wales.
	433 eligible applications were received.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to reply to the letters of  (a) 15 December 2008 and  (b) 15 January 2009 from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding Mrs. P. Hammond.

Shahid Malik: My noble Friend Lord Bach will write to the hon. Member shortly. I am sorry for the delay in replying.

Prison Sentences

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders were given an indeterminate sentence for public protection in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

David Hanson: In 2007, 1,750 indeterminate sentences for public protection were given. In 2008, 1,270 indeterminate sentences for public protection sentences were given, rounded to the nearest 10.
	These figures are taken from the public protection unit database within the National Offender Management Service. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.

Prisons: Standards

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the next prison performance ratings are due to be published; and for what reasons not all prisons in England and Wales had ratings published in the last quarter.

David Hanson: The next prison performance ratings are due to be published for Quarter 3 for all prisons in England and Wales on the Ministry of Justice website in the week commencing 23 March. From time to time, some prisons will not be rated in a particular quarter and reasons for this can include the function of a prison having recently changed or, exceptionally, an absence of appropriate performance data to inform a rating.

Repossession Orders: Braintree

Brooks Newmark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many court orders have been issued for the repossession of homes in Braintree constituency in each of the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Figures for Braintree constituency are not available. However, statistics on mortgage and landlord possession orders for county courts in the south east of England (1987-2008) are available via the Ministry of Justice website at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/stats-landlord-mortgage-historic-20-02-09.xls
	These include figures for Chelmsford and Colchester county courts, which are nearest to Braintree constituency.
	The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. However, geographical boundaries of county courts may not necessarily be consistent with other administrative or constituency boundaries. Repossession orders made at Chelmsford and Colchester county courts may therefore relate to properties in other constituencies besides Braintree.
	These figures do not indicate how many homes have actually been repossessed. Repossessions can occur without a court order being made while not all court orders result in repossession.

Sentencing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will take steps to raise awareness amongst the judiciary of community service alternatives to prison sentences.

Maria Eagle: While sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for the judiciary, the Government believe that prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and seriously persistent offenders. However, prison may not be the most effective option for other offenders, who may better be punished in the community. The Government have ensured that tough non-custodial sentences are available. The Government have put mechanisms in place, both locally and nationally, to ensure sentencers are aware of the community services sentences that are available.

Shoplifting: Sentencing

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of  (a) males and  (b) females who were convicted of shoplifting received a (i) community sentence, (ii) custodial sentence and (iii) court fine in the last 12 months.

Maria Eagle: The available information is provided in the table.
	Sentencing statistics 2008 will be published towards the end of 2009.
	
		
			  Percentage of offenders given sentence types for shoplifting offences, by sex, 2007 
			   Male  Female 
			 Number of community sentences 14,844 5,699 
			 Percentage of community sentences 32 37 
			
			 Number of immediate custodial sentences 9,245 2,021 
			 Percentage of immediate custodial sentences 20 13 
			
			 Number of suspended sentences 2,357 755 
			 Percentage of suspended sentences 5 5 
			
			 Number of fines 7,875 1,955 
			 Percentage of fines 17 13 
			
			 Total sentenced 47,031 15,295 
			  Notes: 1. These data are on the principal offence basis. 2. These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. 3. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.  Source: CMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice

Witnesses: Interviews

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has conducted into provision for interviews with  (a) witnesses and  (b) vulnerable witnesses since 2002.

Maria Eagle: Neither the Home Office nor the Ministry of Justice have published research on witnesses in general.
	The Home Office has published the following research since 2002 about special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses which included consideration of the interview stage in relation to the use of video recorded statements admitted as evidence-in-chief:
	Are special measures working? Evidence from surveys of vulnerable and intimidated witnesses Hamlyn B, Phelps A, Turtle J and Sattar G (London: Home Office Research Study No.283; June 2004) Available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hors283.pdf
	Are special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses working? Evidence from the criminal justice agencies Burton M, Evans R and Sanders A (Home Office Online Report 01/06) Available at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr0106.pdf
	Additionally the Ministry of Justice has published the following research about the intermediary special measure which can be used at the interview stage:
	The 'Go-Between': evaluation of intermediary pathfinder projects Plotnikoff J and Woolfson R (London: Ministry of Justice Research Summary No. 1; June 2007).
	Summary available at:
	http://www.justice.gov.uk/docs/RS-int-pathfinders-projects.pdf
	Full report at:
	http://lexiconlimited.co.uk/PDF%20files/Intermediaries_study_report.pdf

WORK AND PENSIONS

Departmental Data Protection

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the answer of 26 February 2008,  Official Report, column 1383W, on departmental data protection, what types of sensitive personal data are exchanged between his Department and local authorities; and for what general purposes.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department's formal registration with the Information Commissioner lists the types of personal data that are held by the Department and for what purposes, and the bodies with whom, that data may be shared. Local government is listed as a potential recipient for data held under three of the four broad purposes described in the registration. This does not mean that each of the listed types of data is always shared with local authorities: data are only shared where there is a legal power to do so, and a judgment that the sharing of data is both operationally necessary and proportionate. A fuller account of the Department's approach to the use of personal information is contained in DWP and your personal information, which can be found on the Department's public website, and a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Disability Living Allowance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have  (a) claimed and  (b) received disability living allowance as a result of having a child with a behavioural problem in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: Entitlement to disability living allowance is not dependent on a diagnosis or condition but relies instead on the care and/or mobility needs arising. In the case of a child with a behavioural problem, needs may arise as a result of physical or mental complications.
	Information about the number of claims for a child with a behavioural problem could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Disability living allowance: number of cases in payment for under 16-year-olds where a behavioural disorder is recorded as the main disabling condition 
			  As at August each year  Number of cases 
			 2001 44,700 
			 2002 52,200 
			 2003 59,500 
			 2004 65,700 
			 2005 70,200 
			 2006 73,000 
			 2007 75,600 
			 2008 75,600 
			  Notes:  1. Figures are rounded to the nearest hundred and have been adjusted to be consistent with WPLS data.  2. Although the preferred data source for benefit statistics is 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study, the 5 per cent. sample data have been used in this case because they provide some detail not yet available from the 100 per cent. data sources, in particular, more complete information on the disabling condition of disability living allowance claimants.  3. Where more than one disability is present only the main disabling condition is recorded.  4. These statistics are only collected for administrative purposes.  5. Totals show the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital.  Source:  Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5 per cent. sample.

Fuel Poverty

Alan Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his most recent estimate is of the number of households in  (a) Darlington constituency,  (b) County Durham and  (c) England in which more than one individual receives the winter fuel allowance.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the table that follows.
	The following table shows the total number of individuals who received a winter fuel payment and those who received a shared payment. Figures are for winter 2006-07, the latest year for which figures are available.
	
		
			   Total number of payments  Shared payments 
			 Darlington Constituency 17,760 7,780 
			 County Durham 105,610 47,330 
			 England 10,028,780 4,732,410 
			  Notes: 1. A shared payment is made if there is more than one person entitled in a household. If however, an entitled person is receiving pension credit, income-based jobseeker's allowance or income support then their payment is not shared. In these cases that person receives a full payment. 2. Figures from are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Parliamentary constituencies and counties are assigned by matching postcodes against the relevant ONS postcode directory.  Source:  Information directorate 100 per cent. data. 
		
	
	We expect that similar numbers of individuals will receive shared winter fuel payments in 2008-09.

Incapacity Benefit

James Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants of both incapacity benefit and employment support allowance were aged  (a) under 30 years and  (b) under 40 years old in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of them in each case had been in receipt of the benefits for five years or more.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department for Work and Pensions will be publishing National Statistics on Employment and Support Allowance in summer 2009. The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance claimants by age and duration 
			   November 2007  February 2008  May 2008  August 2008 
			  Less than  30 years 
			 All 325,360 320,640 317,100 318,980 
			 Up to five years 240,760 235,720 232,150 233,720 
			 Five years and over 84,600 84,920 84,950 85,260 
			  
			  30 years to 40 years 
			 All 444,210 437,470 430,950 427,550 
			 Up to five years 224,780 219,530 214,780 213,020 
			 Five years and over 219,430 217,950 216,170 214,530 
			  Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Durations refer to incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance awards. 3. Data are for GB and abroad.  Source: The Department for Work and Pensions Information Directorate 100 per cent. Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Industrial Injuries: Compensation

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make it his policy to establish a compensation scheme to make provision for the payment of employer liability claims for injury and illness which relate to employers whose insurers cannot be traced.

Tony McNulty: The Government have no plans to introduce such a scheme but are fully committed to ensuring that people who become ill as a result of their work can receive the compensation to which they are entitled.
	The Code of Practice for Tracing Employers' Liability Insurance Policies enables potential claimants to identify employer's liability policies which they need to claim against. The Department for Work and Pensions monitors the success rate of the Code of Practice, and works with insurers and claimant representatives to improve tracing success rates. For example, we have asked the Association of British Insurers to consider the feasibility of an electronic database for recording details of all future employers' liability insurance policies.

Jobcentre Plus: Labour Turnover

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Jobcentre Plus staff have been  (a) recruited and  (b) made redundant in each Jobcentre Plus region in each (i) year, (ii) month and (iii) quarter since 1 January 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking, how many Jobcentre Plus staff have been (a) recruited and (b) made redundant in each Jobcentre Plus region in each (i) year, (ii) month and (iii) quarter since 1 January 2006. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	I enclose the information requested. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Jobcentre Plus: Sutton

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the address is of each Jobcentre which has closed in the London borough of Sutton since 2002; on what date each closed; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what the full address is of each jobcentre which has closed in the London borough of Sutton since 2002; on what date each closed; and if he will make a statement. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	On 5 January 2007 we closed Sutton Jobcentre at 240 High Street, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1PA. This was replaced by the Sutton Jobcentre Plus office at Helena House, 348 High Street, Sutton, Surrey, SM1 1PX which we opened on 9 January 2007.

Jobcentre Plus: Telephone Services

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls were received by each Jobcentre Plus call centre in each of the last 24 months; and what the  (a) average waiting time for calls to be dealt with and  (b) number of dropped calls was in each call centre in each of those months.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 26 January 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked the acting chief executive to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how many calls were received by each Jobcentre Plus call centre in each of the last 24 months; and what the (a) average waiting time was for such calls to be dealt with in each month; and (b) how many dropped calls there were in each month. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Information about the average waiting time for calls to be dealt with is not available at individual Call Centre level. Information about how many calls were answered or abandoned is only available at site level until July 2008 when our network became virtual. This means the network of 33 sites operates as a single network so the number of calls answered is only available at national level. I have placed the available information in the Library.

Lehman Brothers: Pensions

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what requests have been made to the Pension Protection Fund in respect of employees of Lehman Brothers by the Lehman Pension Fund Trustees.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 2 March 2009
	Following a qualifying insolvency event the Lehman Brothers pension scheme entered an assessment period on the 15 September 2008. The assessment period will last for a minimum of one year and could be longer. Disclosure of scheme-specific information is restricted under section 197 of the Pensions Act 2004.
	During the assessment period, the Lehman Brothers pension fund trustees retain responsibility for the administration of the scheme and for communicating with and making pension payments to scheme members. The trustees must continue to act in the interests of all the scheme members. However, during an assessment period, various restrictions and controls will apply in relation to the scheme. In particular, pensions will be restricted to pension protection fund compensation levels.
	During the assessment period the Pension Protection Fund will work with the trustees to establish whether the scheme has sufficient assets to pay benefits at least as good as PPF compensation. The PPF will in particular seek to pursue any debts owed to the scheme.

Roscommon Way Extension

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment has been made of the effect of the Roscommon Way Extension on Canvey Island on the  (a) pipelines and  (b) other major accident hazard sites in its vicinity; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Health and Safety Executive has made no assessments of the impact of the Roscommon Way Extension on Canvey Island on major accident hazard sites or pipelines in its vicinity.

Social Security Benefits

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the processing time for each new benefit claim was, broken down by benefit type in each of the last 24 months;
	(2)  how many new benefit claims waiting to be processed there were in each of the last 24 months, broken down by benefit type.

Kitty Ussher: holding answer 19 January 2009
	The number of outstanding claims provides a snapshot of claims that are waiting to be processed at the end of the month. It is entirely possible that claims outstanding at the end of the month will be processed within the average actual clearance time target.
	The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  New c laims- average actual clearance times 
			  Days 
			   Bereavement benefits  Incapacity benefit  Incapacity benefit for young people  Income support  Jobseeker's allowance  Maternity allowance 
			 January 2007 14.27 16.97 26.23 9.7 13.1 13.68 
			 February 2007 16.64 14.73 24.9 8.93 13.4 14.89 
			 March 2007 17.75 13.77 24.16 8.79 12.85 13.2 
			 April 2007 16.04 13.97 25.81 9.34 12.62 14.77 
			 May 2007 17.22 13.98 24.55 9.84 12.49 17.7 
			 June 2007 20.55 14.61 28.15 9.54 11.04 16.77 
			 July 2007 18.99 13.62 25.25 9.37 11.25 16.95 
			 August 2007 19.09 12.46 22.11 9.62 11.47 18.07 
			 September 2007 18.64 12.19 23.53 9.61 10.61 21.36 
			 October 2007 22.29 12.35 24.96 9.43 10.22 22.25 
			 November 2007 17.76 11.93 26.4 9.19 9.42 19.79 
			 December 2007 23.1 13.02 28.37 9.52 9.89 19.08 
			
			 January 2008 19.13 13.6 27.81 8.93 9.79 19.54 
			 February 2008 16.28 11.32 24.31 7.92 9.75 17.53 
			 March 2008 18.2 11.41 22.14 8.09 9.43 17.19 
			 April 2008 15.75 11.11 24.31 8.4 9.94 19.63 
			 May 2008 16.74 11.33 20.98 8.15 9.65 20.45 
			 June 2008 17.74 11.2 22.01 8.08 9.9 22.83 
			 July 2008 14.06 11.29 21.33 8.14 10.19 26.14 
			 August 2008 14.1 11.34 19.81 8.15 10.43 27.87 
			 September 2008 14.94 12.04 22.19 8.46 10.02 27.55 
			 October 2008 14.87^ 12.38 23.96 8.65 9.94 13.28 
			 November 2008 13.18 15.57 27.84 9.41 9.99 10.68 
			 December 2008 14.82 21.68 31.99 9.35 10.36 12.21 
		
	
	
		
			  New claims-average actual clearance times 
			  Days 
			   Pension credit  Disability living allowance  Attendance allowance  Carer's allowance 
			 January 2007 15.2 36.9 17.1 10.5 
			 February 2007 15.8 36.9 16.9 10.5 
			 March 2007 16.4 36.8 16.6 10.6 
			 April 2007 15.7 35.8 14.8 10.5 
			 May 2007 15.0 36.9 15.4 10.3 
			 June 2007 15.0 36.9 15.5 10.4 
			 July 2007 16.8 37.2 15.7 10.8 
			 August 2007 16.5 37.4 16.0 11.0 
			 September 2007 16.7 37.7 16.1 11.2 
			 October 2007 15.4 37.7 15.9 11.6 
			 November 2007 15.8 37.5 15.8 11.7 
			 December 2007 16.3 37.5 15.8 12.1 
			  
			 January 2008 16.3 37.3 15.8 12.1 
			 February 2008 14.8 36.6 15.5 12.2 
			 March 2008 13.2 36.0 15.2 12.4 
			 April 2008 14.2 29.4 13.2 13.8 
			 May 2008 14.1 29.5 12.8 13.9 
			 June 2008 14.5 29.5 12.8 13.7 
			 July 2008 15.6 29.4 12.8 13.3 
			 August 2008 14.9 29.5 12.7 13.1 
			 September 2008 14.1 29.8 12.8 13.0 
			 October 2008 13.8 29.9 12.7 12.7 
			 November 2008 14.8 29.9 12.6 12.6 
			 December 2008 14.9 30.1 12.6 12.6 
		
	
	
		
			  State pensions new claims-clearance target 
			   State pension (percentage within 60 days or less) 
			 January 2007 95.7 
			 February 2007 94.9 
			 March 2007 94.8 
			 April 2007 91.1 
			 May 2007 88.3 
			 June 2007 89.2 
			 July 2007 89.6 
			 August 2007 91.4 
			 September 2007 93.1 
			 October 2007 94.8 
			 November 2007 96.4 
			 December 2007 95.8 
			   
			 January 2008 96.4 
			 February 2008 96.0 
			 March 2008 96.7 
			 April 2008 95.8 
			 May 2008 94.4 
			 June 2008 92.4 
			 July 2008 91.6 
			 August 2008 92.0 
			 September 2008 92.2 
			 October 2008 96.8 
			 November 2008 97.7 
			 December 2008 97.0 
			  Source:  Management Information.

Social Security Benefits: Interest Rates

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what factors are taken into account in determining the interest rate assumption for calculating entitlement to benefits.

Rosie Winterton: The first 6,000 of capital (10,000 for those in care homes) is fully disregarded in the income related benefits: income support, jobseekers allowance (income based), employment support allowance (income based) pension credit, housing benefit and council tax benefit.
	The formula for calculating the amount of notional income assumed from capital in the income related benefits is not intended to represent any rate of return that could be obtained from investing capital. It provides a simple method of calculating the weekly contribution that people with capital in excess of the level of the disregard are expected to make from their resources to help meet their normal living costs. As there is no link with actual market rates, the tariff income rates within the income related benefits remained unaltered throughout the period of rising interest rates, just as they have done more recently, when interest rates have been lower.
	On the introduction of income support in 1988, there was a capital disregard of 3,000 and an upper capital limit of 6,000. Notional income was assumed on capital between these amounts at a rate of 1 for each 250 or part of 250. The rate of tariff income applied to capital in pension credit, which was introduced in 2003, is half the rate of tariff income applied to capital in income support, at 1 for each 500 or part of 500. Upon the introduction of pension credit the rate of tariff income applied to capital housing benefit and council tax benefit for those people who have attained the qualifying age for pension credit was also changed to come into line with that which is applied to pension credit.

Unemployed: New Businesses

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department has taken to assist unemployed people to start their own businesses.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 2 March 2009
	The Department offers a self-employment programme to long-term jobseekers through the new deal. This programme offers business advice and, for those who need it, up to six months of 'test trading'. During test trading the jobseeker receives support from an expert provider and may remain on benefits.
	From October, the flexible new deal will start to replace the current suite of new deal programmes, from which point flexible new deal providers will be responsible for deciding how best to help those jobseekers who wish to become self-employed.
	The Government want to do as much as they can to help people through this economic downturn. From April, further help will be available to all those who have been out of work and claiming jobseeker's allowance for six months or more. Working with Business Link in England and through the devolved Administrations, the Government will provide access to short, focused courses on self employment for a wide range of customers. For those who are successful in moving into self-employment, financial support will be offered during the first few months of trading while customers get their businesses going.

Vocational Guidance: Autism

Angela Browning: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the contribution of 27 January 2009,  Official Report, column 188, on the Welfare Reform Bill to the hon. Member for Erewash (Liz Blackman), if he will place in the Library a copy of the procedures to be followed by job advisers in helping people with autistic spectrum disorder into work.

Tony McNulty: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question requesting that a copy of the procedures to be followed by job advisers in helping people with autistic spectrum disorder into work, be placed in the Library. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	There is no single set of procedures to be followed by advisers which are solely focused on helping people with autistic spectrum disorder into work. Jobcentre Plus policy is to develop our people in the skills required to manage a range of behaviours demonstrated by customers, covering a variety of health conditions. This approach ensures that they are equipped to deal with a diverse set of circumstances whilst treating customers as individuals. Skilled employment advisers look at the interaction between the person, the job and an individual's ability. Advisers ensure that job goals relate to the person's abilities and that relevant solutions are identified in order to overcome any barriers a customer might face in a particular job.
	The learning programme for Jobcentre Plus advisers focuses on raising awareness of the customer's personal circumstances and the impact on their ability to move into a sustainable job. Jobcentre Plus also recognises that disabilities and health conditions can affect individuals in different ways. Guidance for advisers includes background information on a number of conditions, including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, the implications for interviews and how to use questioning techniques in order to support customers. Disability Employment Advisers, who focus on customers needing more extensive support, receive further levels of skills training appropriate to their customers, including skills practice in interviewing an autistic person to ensure key learning points are communicated in an effective way.
	I have placed in the Library copies of the autism guide notes for advisers and those for Disability Employment Advisers.
	The Department for Work and Pensions is a Gold member of the Employers Forum on Disability and will be fully engaged with a forthcoming autism telephone tutorial being held by the Forum on 2 April 2009. Jobcentre Plus staff will be encouraged to access this event and it will be publicised on the Jobcentre Plus intranet site, so that full advantage of this learning opportunity is taken. This will help develop an even greater understanding of autism and the issues related to employment. I will also ensure that any developments which come from the question and answer sessions are made available to advisers.

Vocational Training: East Riding

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what Government-funded re-training courses are available for people in the East Riding of Yorkshire who are not eligible for the Rapid Response Service; what qualifications these courses can lead to; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 3 February 2009
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Mel Groves:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking what Government-funded re-training courses are available for people in the East Riding of Yorkshire who are not eligible for the Rapid Response Service and what qualifications these courses can lead to. These are issues that fall within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	Jobcentre Plus is able to access a combination of Government and European Social Funding to offer training for people who find themselves unemployed. I am pleased to tell you that our Regional Minister, Rosie Winterton, recently announced that across Yorkshire and the Humber, Rapid Response Service funding can now be offered to any individual losing their job due to redundancy.
	In East Riding of Yorkshire, Jobcentre Plus Advisers are able to refer customers to a range of training provision delivered by our providers Working Links, In Training, A4E and East Riding College. They offer short duration training, mixing accredited and non-accredited provision that is relevant to the local labour market. Qualifications available include health and hygiene certificates, safety passports, fork lift driving licences, manual handling certificates, SIA licences to allow people to work in the security industry as well as help with literacy and numeracy.
	The same provision helps individuals with the soft skills that employers look for such as self presentation and team work. Our approach reflects what local employers tell us they look for in their recruitment, through Sector Skills Councils and other representative organisations.
	In addition, the Learning Skills Council (LSC) fully funds any first level 2 qualification and many level 3 qualifications. These are delivered through a mixture of Further Education Colleges, private sector and community based providers and can be delivered full time or part time to best suit the individual.
	People who become unemployed, or those under threat of redundancy, can get impartial information, advice and guidance about qualifications and training they need to move into their chosen career from the LSC funded Next Step service. This is actively promoted by Jobcentre Plus advisers.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to answer question 251164, tabled on 21 January 2009, on payment of jobseeker's allowance to prisoners on release.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 23 February 2009
	 I replied to the hon. Member's question on 23 February 2009,  Official Report, column 354W.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database at  (a) Anderson House,  (b) Heron House,  (c) St David's House,  (d) Delta House,  (e) Royal Exchange House,  (f) Civic House,  (g) Capital Tower,  (h) St Mary's House and  (i) Atholl House is in 2008-09.

Patrick McFadden: The estimated costs for business rates for vacant space in the buildings covered by the question, as at 24 February 2009, are as listed:
	 (a) 11,088
	 (b) Not vacant
	 (c) 3,539
	 (d) 3,270
	 (e) Not vacant
	 (f) 17,761
	 (g) Not vacant
	 (h) 32,940 (partially vacant)
	 (i) Not vacant

Import Duties: USA

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what discussions his Department has had with the US administration on trade tariffs.

Gareth Thomas: The Government have regular contact with the US Administration on a range of issues, including trade policy and tariffs. We will continue to press strongly for no new protectionist measures, including tariff increases, and for effective advocacy of open markets and their importance.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to Question 256515, tabled on 9 February 2009, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 24 November 2008 on his constituent Mr. Alan Briggs of Walford Place, Chelmsford.

Patrick McFadden: I responded to the hon. Member on 27 February.

Prince Andrew

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the review undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers into the activities of HRH the Duke of York in his capacity as UK Special Representative for International Trade and Investment.

Gareth Thomas: The PricewaterhouseCoopers report is a private report and a matter for HRH the Duke of York.
	A copy of the report is not held by either BERR or UK Trade and Investment (UKTI).

Royal Mail: Finance

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much revenue he estimates would be received from the sale of 30 per cent. of Royal Mail.

Patrick McFadden: The consideration received as a result of any partnership arrangements will be subject to commercial negotiation with the chosen partner. It is not appropriate to provide an estimate at this stage.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Fuel Poverty

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of progress towards meeting the Government's 2010 and 2016 targets for reducing fuel poverty.

Joan Ruddock: While the Government believe they continue to do all that is reasonably practicable to reduce fuel poverty by the target dates, we recognise that the current mix of fuel poverty measures is unlikely to eradicate fuel poverty among the vulnerable by 2010. Driven by the effect of higher energy prices on fuel poverty numbers and by the Government's more ambitious aims for reducing carbon emissions, we are undertaking a review of fuel poverty policies and objectives. Initial findings of this review are expected in the summer.

Domestic Heating Oil

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received on the price of heating oil for domestic use; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: Unsurprisingly, the Government have received frequent representations on the price of domestic heating oil when it increases, especially following the dramatic rise in crude oil prices during 2008.
	The price trend of the last few months has been down. Changes in exchange rates have offset some of the falls that might otherwise have occurred, but prices are now around 50 per cent. below their peak in July 2008 and at their lowest level for more than 18 months.

Combined Heat and Power

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the contribution of combined heat and power to meeting the Government's targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Joan Ruddock: Combined heat and power has an important role to play in moving the UK towards a thriving, competitive, low-carbon economy. An assessment of its potential in the UK was published by DEFRA in October 2007. We launched a consultation on 12 February on the draft Heat and Energy Efficiency strategy, which will examine the role of combined heat and power in meeting our forthcoming carbon budgets and other targets for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Nuclear Generation

James McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the role of nuclear generation in the provision of a balanced energy supply in the next 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: In the Nuclear White Paper the Government made clear their view that new nuclear has a vital role to play in the UK's future energy mix. Nuclear is a low-carbon energy source and can help address the twin challenges of tackling climate change and ensuring the security of energy supply.
	We are taking active steps to facilitate early deployment of new nuclear build in the UK, by increasing certainty for investors and removing unnecessary obstacles.

Gas Storage

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the volume of gas stored in the UK.

Mike O'Brien: National Grid publishes levels of gas storage stocks on its website, and these figures are updated on a daily basis. Following increases in the amount of gas storage volume last week, as at 3 March 2009, the total volume of gas storage stocks in the UK was 1.26 billion cu m. The UK's total gas storage capacity is approximately 4.4 billion cu m. At this stage of the winter that is what we would expect. Gas storage is there to be used.

Home Energy Efficiency

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to increase his Department's support for home energy efficiency measures.

Joan Ruddock: On 12 February we published a Heat and Energy Saving Strategy consultation on the Government's long-term vision for dramatically increasing the energy efficiency of our homes and businesses and expanding the provision of low carbon heat. We are also consulting on a 20 per cent. increase to the existing household carbon saving obligation on energy suppliers and on introducing a new 350 million community programme to deliver carbon abatement measures to households in deprived communities.

Renewable Energy Generation

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress has been made towards the Government's 2020 targets for renewable energy generation; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (James Duddridge) earlier today.

Domestic Energy Tariffs

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of likely changes to domestic energy tariffs in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Julian Brazier: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of likely changes to domestic energy tariffs in 2009; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: One of the six largest energy suppliers has already reduced its prices, and a further four have announced that they will do so from the end of March. Recent high prices have been driven mainly by unprecedentedly high wholesale costs for both gas and electricity, which make up around 60 per cent. of the cost of an average domestic bill. Ofgem's estimations of the suppliers' purchasing strategies show that the supply companies' costs peaked towards the end of 2008 and, on the basis of current forward wholesale prices, are expected to decline throughout 2009. Ofgem are now reporting on a quarterly basis on the link between wholesale and retail energy prices as it is vitally important that energy suppliers pass further savings on to their customers.

Pre-Payment Meters

Jim Devine: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with energy suppliers on their use of pre-payment meters; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have met all energy suppliers over the past months on a number of occasions. At these meetings, we have made clear that suppliers should not improperly discriminate against customers due to their method of payment. Ofgem has recently consulted on how best to do this, and we await with interest the outcome of this consultation.

Global Warming

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent assessment he has made of the scientific evidence for global warming.

Joan Ruddock: The most recent comprehensive report assessing the scientific evidence for global warming is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fourth Assessment Report, published in 2007. In December 2008, at the Government's request, the Committee on Climate Change reported to Government on the nature of the climate change threat and recommended actions that the UK should undertake. We continue to commission research from the Met Office Hadley Centre and others on climate change.

Kingsnorth Power Station

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on the proposed new generating units at Kingsnorth power station; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The application by E.ON UK Plc for consent under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for a 1600MW coal fired generating station is currently with the Department. A decision on the application will follow the conclusion of both the consultation of carbon capture readiness and the planned new consultation on a new framework for coal fired power stations.

Carbon Emissions: Research

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the future skills needs of low-carbon, resource-efficient industrial sectors.

Joan Ruddock: In 2008, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned a review of the evidence of the skills that are, or will be, needed for a low carbon resource-efficient economy. The review was commissioned to identify gaps in the evidence base and help inform policy development in this area, and as such no evaluation of it has been commissioned. However, the review's conclusions are being discussed with stakeholders.

Fossil Fuels: North Sea

Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to maximise the supply of oil and gas from the North Sea and the UK continental shelf.

Mike O'Brien: With around 20 billion barrels, or more, remaining, there is plenty of life left in the North sea. Our 25th licensing round produced the highest number of licenses ever offered171 to 99 companies, industry continues to respond strongly to our initiatives to stimulate activity via licensing innovations, releasing fallow acreage and boosting production from older fields. With industry, we will continue to squeeze as much from the North sea as possible for years to come.

Green Neighbourhoods Initiative

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many communities have had environmentally-friendly improvements sponsored by the Green Neighbourhoods Initiative.

Joan Ruddock: The Government announced in April 2008 their intention to launch a new green neighbourhoods programme. We asked the Energy Saving Trust to develop a community-based approach which would help up to 100 selected neighbourhoods in England reduce their carbon footprints by 60 per cent. The scheme is currently still in development and we will be making decisions shortly on its future.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with energy suppliers on the availability of liquefied petroleum gas.

Mike O'Brien: There are a large number of LPG suppliers and the Department hopes to meet their trade groups in due course.

Warm Front Scheme

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of public expenditure on grants to individual households for  (a) renewable energy installations and  (b) energy efficiency measures over the next six years.

Mike O'Brien: holding answer 23 February 2009
	The Low Carbon Buildings Programme (LCBP) Phase 1 provides grants to householders to install renewable and low carbon technologies. It aims to run through to June 2010 for new applications and the current forecast for grant commitment is:
	
		
			
			 2009-10 4,590,000 
			 2010-11 3,165,000 
		
	
	The largest energy efficiency programme in the household sector is carbon emission reduction targets (CERT), which runs from 2008-11 and which is paid for by energy suppliers, not Government. We estimate that, over 2008-11, energy suppliers will pay around 3.2 billion for this programme although they may reach their carbon saving target at lower cost than expected. In addition, the decent homes programme supports social housing in England only and around 250 million was spent on energy efficiency in social housing during EC2 (2005-08) and the CERT calculations are based on the assumption that this level of commitment will continue until 2011.
	In terms of the warm front scheme, the funding for the current period (2008-11) is set at 959 million. Current estimates suggest that the scheme will complete approximately 266,000 heating jobs and 210,000 insulation jobs in this period. It is not possible to provide projections relating to spend after this time.
	The policy landscape for energy saving after 2011-12 is not yet fixed. The Government recently released the heat and energy saving strategy for consultation, which outlines the various options and some of these are based on continued commitments from energy suppliers.

Warm Front Scheme: Lighting

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assumptions his Department makes in calculating the carbon abatement accruing from the provision of energy efficient light bulbs under the Warm Front scheme.

Joan Ruddock: Warm Front is estimated to save an average of 1.3 tonnes of CO2 per year for every household assisted. This figure is calculated using the industry standard software, and as such no assumptions are made by the Department about the impact of individual measures.

TREASURY

Air Passenger Duty

Peter Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to abolish air passenger duty; and what scheme will replace it.

Angela Eagle: The Government have no plans to abolish air passenger duty.

Banks: Credit

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the vulnerability of UK financial institutions to credit default swaps.

Stephen Timms: As the memorandum of understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authorities (FSA) sets out, it is the FSA that is responsible for prudential supervision of individual banks.

Banks: Credit

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what credit default swaps  (a) have been issued in the last five years and  (b) are held by each bank regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Angela Eagle: The Treasury does not hold this information.

Banks: Pay

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate his Department has made of the rate of change in salaries of company directors and senior executives as a result of salary pay review boards; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The salaries paid to company directors and senior executives in the private sector are a matter for the boards of those companies, their remuneration committees and their shareholders.
	The Directors' Remuneration Report Regulations 2002 require quoted companies to publish a report on directors' remuneration as part of its annual reporting process and give shareholders a vote on that report. This enables shareholders to hold companies accountable for their remuneration policies.

Banks: Regulation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of public opinion on the arrangements introduced by his Department for the management of its controlling interest in banks where UK Financial Investments is on the board.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor receives a wide range of representations on issues relating to banks in receipt of public funds.

Banks: Regulation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to empower the customers, employees and borrowers of banks to appoint directors of their banks.

Angela Eagle: The Companies Act 2006 lays down the procedures for the appointment of company directors to represent the interests of shareholders.

Banks: Regulation

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require bank directors to return the bonuses and share options that they received during 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Stephen Timms: The Government have ensured that none of the banks accessing the recapitalisation scheme awarded cash bonuses for 2008 to board members, and the Government approve the terms of remuneration for senior executives at banks in temporary public ownership.
	Banks' future remuneration policies must be based on long-term sustainable performance in the interests of shareholders, taking proper account of risk.

Banks: Sponsorship

Gordon Banks: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to reduce expenditure by banks in receipt of public support on their existing and proposed sponsorship arrangements.

Stephen Timms: Decisions about sponsorship are commercial matters for the boards of each bank.

Beer: Sales

Nigel Evans: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what the monetary value of beer sales in  (a) the on-trade and  (b) the off-trade was in each year since 1998;
	(2)  how much the Exchequer received in taxes and duties on beer  (a) sold in the on-trade,  (b) sold in the off-trade and  (c) from other sources in each year since 1998.

Angela Eagle: Estimates of the monetary value of beer sales in the on-trade and off-trade are shown in the following table. Data for 2008 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Value of beer sales 
			   million 
			   On-trade  Off-trade 
			 1998 13,789 3,671 
			 1999 14,169 3,804 
			 2000 14,087 3,821 
			 2001 14,409 3,964 
			 2002 14,836 4,064 
			 2003 15,329 4,233 
			 2004 16,280 4,245 
			 2005 16,690 4,201 
			 2006 17,097 4,319 
			 2007 16,074 4,417 
			  Source: Euromonitor 
		
	
	Duty on beer is paid by breweries and not by retailers. As a result, HMRC statistics do not have a breakdown of taxes and duties collected on beer between the on-trade and off-trade. An estimate of this breakdown has not been produced, as excise duty revenues on beer depend on beer volumes and their strength, while VAT revenues on beer depend on the value of beer sales.
	Total beer duty is published in the HMRC Beer and Cider Duties National Statistics bulletin, a copy of which can be found at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=bullbeer

Capital Gains Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the additional revenue which would accrue to the Exchequer if capital gains were taxed at the basic rate of income tax in 2009-10.

Stephen Timms: A reform of this kind would result in a large behavioural response and such estimates are susceptible to a wide margin of error. A broad estimate of the eventual steady state impact, taking account of the likely taxpayer response to such a change and assuming that the annual exempt amount would continue to exist under this kind of reform, is additional receipts in the order of 200 million a year by comparison with the current capital gains tax (CGT) regime. This estimate should be viewed with caution, as the comparison point is the new 18 per cent. rate of CGT for which data are not yet available.

Child Support

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will bring forward proposals for temporary increases in levels of child benefit, tax-free child allowances, and child tax credits to help workers with families currently on short-time working.

Stephen Timms: Tax credits are a flexible, responsive system of financial support that adjusts to people's circumstances. Shortened working hours that have the effect of reducing a household's income may lead to a higher tax credits award, provided that the household continues to meet the normal eligibility conditions for tax credits.
	In December 2008, 412,000 households were benefiting from an increased tax credits award because of a fall in income compared to their previous year's income. To receive any additional support, households need only notify HMRC of their changed circumstances.
	In addition to this responsive support, the Government have already brought forward extra help for families in the economic downturn. In January 2009, Child Benefit was increased to 20 per week for the first child, bringing forward the increase originally planned for April. The child element of child tax credit will increase by 75 above indexation from April 2009, bringing forward the 25 increase originally planned for April 2010 and building on the Government's original commitment to a 50 increase. The Government will announce any further changes to tax and benefits rates in the Budget.

Departmental Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has allocated for staff bonuses in 2008-09.

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many officials of  (a) his Department,  (b) the Financial Services Authority and  (c) the Bank of England will receive bonuses during 2008-09; how much will be paid in bonuses to staff of each; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Bank of England are operationally independent of Government. The payment of non-consolidated performance awards to staff is a matter for these organisations.
	Details of performance payments made by the Treasury Group in 2008-09, and on the performance pay awarded to individual members of the Treasury Board, will be included in the Treasury Group's Annual Report and Accounts later this year.
	For 2008-09, up to 2 per cent. of HM Treasury's total pay bill is available for non-consolidated payments related to performance. Such payments are funded within existing pay bill controls and have to be re-earned each year.

Departmental Postal Services

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of letters sent by his Department were given to  (a) the Royal Mail and  (b) another postal services provider for delivery in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement.

Angela Eagle: A total of 61,372 items were sent in the past 12 months. Of these 54,744 were transmitted by Royal Mail (89 per cent.) and 6,628 by other postal service providers (11 per cent.) including the Government Car and Dispatch Agency.

Departmental Training

Greg Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 January 2009,  Official Report, column 586W, on departmental training, what the cost of the three courses was; and which Ministers attended each course.

Angela Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 February 2009,  Official Report, column 2102W.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much revenue has accrued to the Exchequer from the tax on the sale of  (a) beer and  (b) other alcoholic drinks sold in public houses in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Angela Eagle: Duty on alcohol is paid by alcohol manufacturers and not by retailers. As a result, HMRC statistics do not have figures for taxes and duties collected on beer and other alcoholic drinks sold in public houses. An estimate of this breakdown has not been produced, as excise duty revenues depend on alcohol volumes and in some cases alcoholic strength, whilst VAT revenues depend on the value of alcohol sales.
	Total alcohol duty revenues are published in HMRC National Statistics bulletins for all alcohol types, copies of which can be found at:
	https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=Bulletins

Income Tax

Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people on half  (a) mean and  (b) median income have paid income tax in each of the last 12 years.

Stephen Timms: Estimates of the number of taxpayers for the period 1996-97 to 2006-07 with total income at or below half of the mean and median are in the following table.
	
		
			  Individuals 
			   Half of mean income ()  Taxpayers with total income at or below h alf of the mean annual income ( m illion )  Half of median income ()  Taxpayers with total income at or below hal f of the median annual income ( m illion ) 
			 1996-97 5,810 3.3 4,210 0.8 
			 1997-98 6,110 3.6 4,440 0.9 
			 1998-99 6,580 3.3 4,720 0.6 
			 1999-2000 6,780 3.1 4,970 0.7 
			 2000-01 7,470 4.6 5,280 1.2 
			 2001-02 7,790 4.2 5,570 1.1 
			 2002-03 7,820 4.1 5,790 1.3 
			 2003-04 8,110 4.4 5,980 1.6 
			 2004-05 8,530 5.0 6,280 1.7 
			 2005-06 8,780 4.9 6,480 1.7 
			 2006-07 9,150 5.1 6,750 1.8 
		
	
	These estimates are based on the number of people facing tax liabilities. The estimates of taxpayers are based upon the Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI). Estimates of half of mean and median income are at individual level and have been derived from the Family Resource Survey (FRS).
	Some families have their tax liabilities offset by tax credits. Estimates based on the 2006-07 FRS show that there were:
	around 4.1 million taxpaying families with income at or below half the mean family income. Of these, around 0.2 million families were entitled to more tax credits than their income tax liabilities; and
	around 1.3 million taxpaying families with income at or below half the median family income. Of these, around 30,000 families were entitled to more tax credits than their income tax liabilities.
	Caution should be exercised in drawing trends from these figures because sample estimates can demonstrate a large variability from year to year and the definitions of income from the two surveys are not necessarily the same.
	Similar information for other years is not available.

Income Tax: Charitable Donations

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has undertaken an assessment of the likely effect of the proposed new 45 per cent. income tax rate on the level of charitable donations.

Stephen Timms: Impact assessments for changes in rates of tax are not ordinarily produced unless there are also significant changes to administrative costs and benefits.

Lloyds TSB: Halifax Bank of Scotland

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what advice his Department received from the Financial Services Authority on the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS before the merger took place;
	(2)  what alternatives to the merger with Lloyds TSB his Department considered for HBOS.

Angela Eagle: The Financial Services Authority, the Bank of England and HM Treasury all undertook detailed assessments of the impact of the problems at HBOS on the stability of the UK financial system. This included consideration of alternative options for responding to those problems.
	Our positions were set out in detail in the representations we made to the OFT on the relevance of the proposed merger between HBOS and Lloyds TSB to the public interest of stability in the UK financial system. Those representations were attached to the OFT's subsequent report to the Secretary of State for BERR who was required to take a decision on whether to clear the merger or refer it to the Competition Commission.
	A non-confidential version of the OFT's report and attached representations has been published and may be found on the BERR website.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton of 5 January 2009 on Mr. E. Warne.

Stephen Timms: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues, there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Treasury hopes to be in a position to reply to the right hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter dated 1 December 2008 from the hon. Member for Hemel Hempstead on tax codes.

Stephen Timms: HM Revenue and Customs replied to the hon. Member on 27 February.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 15 December 2008, on his constituent, Ms Pippa Cuckson of Great Leighs, Chelmsford.

Angela Eagle: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 4 December 2008, on his constituent, Mr. Peter Lee, of Great Waltham, Essex.

Ian Pearson: I have replied to the hon. Member.

Members: Correspondence

Simon Burns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2009,  Official Report, columns 907-08W, on Members: correspondence, when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Chelmsford of 20 October 2008 on his constituent, Mr. Peter Vickers of Chelmsford.

Angela Eagle: Due to the large volume of correspondence received on these issues there has been a delay in sending some responses. The Financial Services Secretary hopes to be in a position to reply to the hon. Member shortly.

Minimum Wage

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs plans to take to increase levels of compliance by businesses with the national minimum wage.

Patrick McFadden: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government are committed to simple, effective enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) which removes the unfair competitive advantage that a small minority of businesses seek to gain by not paying the NMW. From 6 April this year, new measures brought under the Employment Act 2008, which aim to increase compliance, include:
	new automatic penalties of up to 5,000 for employers found not to be complying with the NMW;
	a new system for calculating repayment of arrears of NMW to a worker which takes account of the length of time the arrears have been outstanding; and
	greater powers for officers enforcing the NMW in obtaining records.

Revenue and Customs: Absenteeism

Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of working days was lost to absenteeism in HM Revenue and Customs call centres in each of the last five years.

Stephen Timms: HMRC contact centres are able to provide average working days lost to sickness, for the equivalent of each full-time member of staff, in the last four fiscal years.
	
		
			  Fiscal year  Average working days lost 
			 2004-05 20.61 
			 2005-06 20.90 
			 2006-07 14.86 
			 2007-08 18.18 
		
	
	Information for the year 2003-04 is not available.

Royal Bank of Scotland

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he was first informed of the financial difficulties at the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Stephen Timms: As the memorandum of understanding between HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authorities (FSA) sets out, the tripartite authorities have regular meetings to discuss financial stability.
	As the MOU sets out, it is the FSA that is responsible for prudential supervision of individual banks.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many residential properties were sold in  (a) each of the six months before and  (b) in each month since the introduction of the stamp duty land tax holiday;
	(2)  what assessment has been made of the effect of the stamp duty land tax holiday on residential property sales since its introduction;
	(3)  what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the Exchequer of the stamp duty land tax holiday.

Ian Pearson: The number of residential properties, priced at 40,000 or higher, sold in each month up to January 2009 is published at:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/survey_of_prop/value-40000-or-above.pdf
	These statistics will be updated to February 2009 on 24 March.
	The most recent published estimate of the cost to the Exchequer of the stamp duty land tax holiday was published in table B5 of the PBR report, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr08_annexb_262.pdf
	An updated estimate will be published in the Budget report.
	It is too early to make an assessment of the effect of the stamp duty land tax holiday on residential property sales.

Vulture Funds

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to cap the amount of profit attainable by vulture funds registered in the UK.

Ian Pearson: The Government deplore the activities of so-called vulture funds. We have taken a leading role in efforts to stop these funds profiting from the debts owed by poor countries. We continue to keep all options for tackling this problem under consideration.
	Our action has focused on measures we believe will have the most impact in tackling this issue: preventing debts falling into the hands of vulture funds and helping countries to defend themselves in cases already under way.
	To prevent debts falling into the hands of vulture funds in the first place, we have supported the World Bank's debt reduction facility. This facility helps countries buy back their commercial debts at a vastly reduced price, cancelling debt outright and preventing it being enforced before a court. More than $9 billion of poor countries' debts have already been cancelled in this way. Following improvements to the facility, DFID has recently committed more fundsup to 10 millionto future commercial debt buy-back operations.
	To help countries defend themselves in existing cases, we have supported the establishment of an African legal support facility to which DFID will contribute 5 million. We believe this will help ensure countries have access to high quality legal advice and expertise, which can be valuable in reducing the impact of litigation. For example, in the case of Zambia, where DFID helped to pay its legal fees when it was targeted by a vulture fund, the court reduced Zambia's liability by around $40 million.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Academies

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what  (a) responsibility and  (b) powers local authorities will have over academies as a result of the dissolution of the Learning and Skills Council and the devolution of powers over 16-19 education to local authorities.

Jim Knight: Subject to the passage of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Bill, local authorities will take on the responsibility for securing sufficient provision for all 16 to 19-year-olds in their area. In fulfilling the proposed duties in the Bill, they will commission places from all types of providers, including academies, to meet the needs of the young people in their areas. Local authorities will not gain any new powers or responsibilities over academies.
	An Academy Trust, through their funding agreement is responsible for determining the number of places they will provide to their local communities in consultation with their local authority. Under current arrangements the Secretary of State already has the power to amend that number of places, for instance on the basis of local need. Under the proposals in the Bill, the only change is that the Secretary of State will have the power to ask the YPLA to exercise these and other academy-related functions, on his behalf, as set out in clause 74.

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils in each year group with  (a) statemented and  (b) non-statemented special educational needs attended academies in each year since 2003.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is provided in the tables:
	
		
			  Academies: number of pupils with special educational needs by national curriculum year group, 2003-08, England 
			   2003  2004  2005 
			   Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements  Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements  Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements 
			  National Curriculum Year Group:  
			 Nursery Year 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 0 (1) 
			 Nursery Year 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 0 (1) 
			 Reception 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 (1) 20 
			 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 (1) 40 
			 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 (1) 30 
			 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 10 30 
			 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 (1) 30 
			 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 10 40 
			 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 110 10 40 
			 7 560 10 110 2,300 80 650 3,380 120 960 
			 8 460 10 170 1,800 60 560 2,820 100 800 
			 9 540 20 210 1,710 70 500 2,260 70 710 
			 10 540 10 150 1,760 60 540 2,210 80 670 
			 11 540 10 140 1,890 60 520 2,090 80 610 
			 12 70 (1) (1) 570 (1) 20 1,180 20 180 
			 13 0 0 0 190 (1) (1) 480 (1) 20 
			 14 0 0 0 (1) 0 0 20 0 (1) 
			 Not followed0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 Total 2,720 70 780 10,220 330 2,800 15,200 510 4,180 
		
	
	
		
			   2006  2007  2008 
			   Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements  Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements  Number of pupils  Pupils with s tatements of SEN  Pupils with  SEN without statements 
			  National Curriculum Year Group:  
			 Nursery Year 1 20 0 (1) 20 0 (1) 30 (1) 0 
			 Nursery Year 2 50 0 10 40 0 10 200 0 20 
			 Reception 120 0 30 110 (1) 40 400 (1) 60 
			 1 80 (1) 40 100 0 50 300 10 80 
			 2 110 (1) 50 100 (1) 40 330 (1) 110 
			 3 100 (1) 50 110 (1) 50 310 10 100 
			 4 100 10 50 90 (1) 50 320 (1) 120 
			 5 100 (1) 50 110 10 50 300 10 140 
			 6 100 10 50 100 (1) 50 330 10 120 
			 7 5,020 150 1,250 8,110 190 2,530 14,050 360 4,020 
			 8 4,760 150 1,270 7,600 200 2,260 12,980 320 3,980 
			 9 4,350 150 1,140 7,450 210 2,000 12,650 320 3,890 
			 10 3,720 110 980 7,060 210 1,920 12,430 340 3,550 
			 11 3,580 110 1,000 6,390 170 1,670 11,900 310 3,300 
			 12 1,810 30 240 2,600 30 320 5,190 70 650 
			 13 1,130 10 110 1,380 10 120 2,610 20 230 
			 14 100 0 10 90 0 20 110 (1) 10 
			 Not followed 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			   
			 Total 25,240 740 6,320 41,470 1,030 11,180 74,430 1,770 20,390 
			 (1) Less than 5.  Notes: 1. Excludes dually registered pupils. 2. These figures do not include Academies that opened after January 2008. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many Building Schools for the Future projects are  (a) on time and  (b) behind schedule; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table illustrates the delivery record for each school against the baseline targets for school openings that were agreed early in the programme. The baseline figures for school openings were agreed once the programme had started.
	Baseline targets are different to the contractual dates that are agreed between local authorities and their private sector partner at financial close. On this latter measure, all schools were delivered on time and on budget.
	
		
			  Local authority  School  Opened  Completed on time 
			 Bradford Titus Salt School September 2008 No 
			 Bradford Tong High School September 2008 No 
			 Bradford Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College September 2008 No 
			 Bristol Bristol Metropolitan College April 2008 Yes 
			 Bristol Brislington Enterprise College September 2008 Yes 
			 Bristol The Bridge Learning Campus January 2009 No 
			 Bristol Bristol Brunel Academy September 2007 Yes 
			 Haringey Haringey Sixth Form Centre (early win) September 2007 Yes 
			 Kent Ifield School (early win) March 2008 Yes 
			 Knowsley Christ the King Catholic and Church of England Centre for Learning January 2009 No 
			 Lambeth Elmgreen School (temporary accommodation) September 2007 Yes 
			 Lambeth The Michael Tippett School February 2008 Yes 
			 Lambeth Park Campus November 2008 Yes 
			 Lancashire Burnley Campus (Thomas Whitham Sixth Form) September 2008 Yes 
			 Lancashire Pendle Vale College (Pendle Vale Campus) September 2008 Yes 
			 Lancashire Pendle Community High School (Pendle Vale Campus) September 2008 Yes 
			 Lancashire Shuttleworth College September 2008 Yes 
			 Leeds Cockburn College of Arts September 2008 Yes 
			 Leeds Allerton High School September 2008 Yes 
			 Leeds Pudsey Grangefield School September 2008 Yes 
			 Leeds Rodillian School September 2008 Yes 
			 Leeds Temple Moor High School September 2008 Yes 
			 Leicester Fullhurst Community College January 2009 No 
			 Lewisham Sedgehill January 2009 No 
			 Manchester Newall Green High School September 2008 No 
			 Manchester Gorton Education Village (Cedar Mount High School) September 2008 No 
			 Manchester St. Paul's September 2008 No 
			 Manchester St. Matthews RC High School January 2009 No 
			 Manchester Gorton Education Village (Melland High School) September 2008 No 
			 Newcastle Benfield School (phase 1 of refurb) September 2008 Yes 
			 Newcastle Walbottle Campus Technology College September 2008 Yes 
			 Newcastle Walkergate Primary School September 2008 n/a(1) 
			 Newcastle Stocksfield Avenue Primary School September 2008 n/a(1) 
			 Newcastle Kenton School November 2008 Yes 
			 Newcastle All Saints College (early win) September 2006 Yes 
			 Sheffield Chaucer Business and Enterprise College (early win) October 2006 Yes 
			 Sheffield Yewlands Technology College October 2008 Yes 
			 Sheffield Talbot Specialist School January 2009 Yes 
			 Sheffield Newfield Secondary School January 2009 Yes 
			 Sheffield Silverdale Secondary School January 2009 Yes 
			 Solihull Lanchester School September 2008 No 
			 Solihull Park Hall School October 2008 No 
			 Solihull Archbishop Grimshaw Catholic School October 2008 No 
			 Solihull Forest Oak and Merstone Schools (early win) May 2006 Yes 
			 STaG Bamburgh School (Horsley Hill Community Campus) (early win) October 2006 Yes 
			 Stoke Birches Head (early win) November 2007 Yes 
			 Stoke Sandon High School (early win) February 2008 Yes 
			 Sunderland Oxclose Community School (early win) June 2007 Yes 
			 Waltham Frederick Bremer September 2008 Yes 
			 Waltham Kelmscott School September 2008 Yes 
			 (1) These primary schools were delivered as part of Newcastle's BSF project through the Local Education Partnership, but were not originally included in the programme.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his estimate was on 1 April 2008 of capital expenditure on schools in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10 for (i) Building Schools for the Future and (ii) all other schools capital spending; what his latest estimate is of the likely outturns for 2008-09 and 2009-10; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The following table sets out the Department's forecast capital spend at the start of the current financial year, compared with the current forecast, for 2008-09 and 2009-10. The change in 2009-10 is mainly due to the Government's fiscal stimulus plans, where about 0.8 billion is being brought forward. As these are forecasts, they are subject to change.
	
		
			   billion 
			   2008-09 f orecast  2009-10 f orecast 
			  Description  April 2008  December 2008  April 2008  December 2008 
			 Building Schools For the Future, including Academies (excluding PFI) 1.3 1.2 2.2 2.3 
			 Other Capital Allocations 3.8 3.7 4.1 4.8 
			 Total 5.1 4.9 6.3 7.1 
			  Notes: 1. The table excludes PFI credits of around 1.3 billion available each year, as the funding to support these is provided to local authorities as revenue from the Department of Communities and Local Government. 2. The increase in the 2009-10 forecast spend from 6.3 billion to 7.1 billion includes 0.8 billion to be advanced from 2010-11 to 2009-10.

Building Schools for the Future Programme

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the  (a) actual and  (b) target period of time is from invitations to bid to the signing of a contract for each Building Schools for the Future contract for the period 2006 to January 2009; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the average  (a) length and  (b) cost to the public purse of the bidding process at Building Schools for the Future projects has been; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: At the outset of the programme the target was 78 weeks. To date, the average time taken by local authorities to procure their private sector partners to deliver their Building Schools for the Future projects is 102 weeks. This timing compares favourably to other PFI deals in the education and other sectors and is typical of procurement using European Union competitive dialogue or negotiated procedure processes for major procurements. Following a review of BSF procurement (completed in May 2008) we have introduced changes that aim to further significantly streamline the procurement process. As a result, the target procurement time will fall to 74 weeks for authorities just entering the programme.
	During the procurement period, local authorities engage with the private sector bidders and work towards the selection of a partner through competitive bid evaluation. The bidding costs during this part of the process are borne by the private sector, with the public sector incurring costs associated with the project management of the procurement. These costs can vary significantly depending on a number of project-specific factors, including the size of the project.

Children in Care: Primary Education

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many primary school pupils at key stage 2 have been children in care in each year since 2000; and how many of those were among the 5 per cent. identified as most talented.

Beverley Hughes: Data published by the Department as SFR 23/2008: Children looked after in England (including adoption and care leavers) year ending 31 March 2008, show 47,600 children aged between five and 19 as being looked after by local authorities as at 31 March 2008. The source of this publication is the SSDA903, which does not collect information on whether a child is part of their school's gifted and talented cohort. Information on gifted and talented pupils is, however, collected in the School Census which also collects information on whether a child is in care whilst at their school.
	The most recent census data relate to January 2008. The census shows 34,390 pupils aged five to 19 attending primary, secondary and special schools who are classed as being in care as at January 2008. The School Census does not cover all looked after children; information is not collected for pupils in alternative provision, including pupil referral units, FE colleges, voluntary provision and those not in education or training. These differences in coverage will explain the different counts to an extent, but it is possible that the School Census undercounts the number of looked after children in primary, secondary and special schools.
	The information available is shown in the following table. Information on gifted and talented pupils was first collected for primary and secondary schools in 2007 therefore information for the last five years is not available.
	
		
			  Maintained primary and state-funded secondary schools:( 1,2 ) Number and percentage of pupils who have and have not been in care in their current school and of those the number which are gifted and talentedPosition in January each year 2007 and 2008, England 
			   Maintained primary schools( 1) 
			   Pupils who have not been in care in their current school  Pupils who have been in care at their current school( 3) 
			   Total pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage  Total pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage 
			 2007 4,093,410 281,730 6.9 17,340 676 3.9 
			 2008 4,072,790 330,910 8.1 17,610 764 4.3 
		
	
	
		
			   State-funded secondary schools( 1,2) 
			   Pupils who have not been in care in their current school  Pupils who have been in care at their current school( 3) 
			   Total Pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage  Total Pupils  Gifted and talented  Percentage 
			 2007 3,307,280 415,760 12.6 18,350 782 4.3 
			 2008 3,276,010 447,790 13.7 18,570 791 4.3 
			 (1 )Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) There is a degree of under-reporting in the School Census return of pupils who are looked after compared to the two main statistical collections on looked after children. The figures here show those pupils who are or who have been in care whilst at their current school.  Notes: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Information on gifted and talented status is not collected from Special Schools.  Source: School Census

Children: Corporal Punishment

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if his Department will provide funding to support the Council of Europe's Raise your hand against smacking campaign in England.

Beverley Hughes: Our approach is to provide parents with positive support and guidance to help them manage their children's behaviour more effectively without smacking. As part of this, approximately 300 million is being invested between 2008 and 2011 to improve the quality and supply of parenting support and ensure that parents have access to the information, advice and guidance needed to support them in their parenting role.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families who is responsible for the accuracy of data in the ContactPoint database.

Beverley Hughes: holding answer 27 February 2009
	The persons or bodies responsible for the accuracy of data in the ContactPoint database are those required or permitted to supply information to it, as set out in the Children Act 2004 Information Database (England) Regulations 2007. Data suppliers to ContactPoint already have obligations for data accuracy under the 4th Principle of the Data Protection Act 1998, and must take reasonable steps to ensure that the information they or their organisation hold and provide to ContactPoint is accurate and up to date.
	Records from a range of national and local sources will be combined in ContactPoint, using data matching technology, to produce a set of basic information about each child. This makes it highly resilient to errors in any individual source. Where errors are identified, they will be notified back to the source, for correction.

Children: Databases

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what contracts his Department has had with Capgemini since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information for the full period from 1997 is not available as the maximum time for the retention of records relating to contracts for services of the type supplied by Capgemini is six years.
	The Department and its predecessor, the Department for Education and Skills, have placed three major centrally negotiated contracts with Capgemini. The first of these, a Business Services Framework Agreement dating from November 2001, covered five service categories together with the transition of services from a previous supplier. These services were applications support and maintenance, applications development, information systems support, hosting and consultancy, and business transformation. Work orders were used to commission specific pieces of work in these categories from Capgemini.
	Following expiry of this contract on 30 September 2008, a second contract was placed for the period to 31 March 2011. This contract, also requiring individual work orders, covers the same range of services but will be used primarily for applications support and maintenance.
	The third contract is for the build and testing of ContactPoint and its continuing support and hosting. The support and hosting element expires no later than 2014. Details of expenditure on this contract have been given in response to PQ259398, 4 March 2009,  Official Report, column 1676W.
	Additionally since March 2006 three consultancy contracts were awarded by the Department to Capgemini. Two of these were for advice for the Corporate Service Transformation Programme, and one was for expert advisers to work with low-performing schools. Information on other contracts is not held centrally and to gather the information retrospectively would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

Children: English Language

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what support his Department provides to children who do not speak English as a first language; and how much that support  (a) cost in each of the last five years and  (b) is expected to cost in the next three years, broken down by type of expenditure.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All pupils of school age, including those for whom English is an additional language (EAL), are supported by the core school funding programmes notably Dedicated School Grant (DSG) which totals 29 billion this year. In addition the Department allocates to all local authorities on a needs-based formula Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG), which contributes towards costs of additional support to meet the specific needs of EAL learners. The total grant paid or allocated for each year from 2003-04 to the end of this spending period is as follows:
	
		
			   EMAG  ( m illion ) 
			 2003-04 155.8 
			 2004-05 162.1 
			 2005-06 168.5 
			 2006-07 173.6 
			 2007-08 178.6 
			 2008-09 187.6 
			 2009-10 197.6 
			 2010-11 206.6 
		
	
	In addition, an Exceptional Circumstances Grant (ECG) has been introduced to reflect in-year changes in local authorities' pupil numbers. It has three elements covering: an increase of 2.5 per cent. in overall pupil numbers; an increase of 2.5 per cent. in the proportion of pupils with English as an additional language; and a one-off payment to any authority whose proportion of such pupils was below 10 per cent. and rises by 2.5 per cent. In the current year a total of 264,000 has been paid to four local authorities (City of London, Barking and Dagenham, Peterborough and Blackburn with Darwen) in response to qualifying increases in their proportions of EAL children.
	It is not possible to disaggregate DSG, EMAG or ECG expenditure by type.

Children: English Language

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the percentage of children in England at  (a) primary school and  (b) secondary school who did not speak English as a first language in each of the last five years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The percentage of children in primary and secondary schools who did not speak English as a first language in each of the last five years can be found in the following table.
	The latest figures are in the Statistical First Release 'Pupil Characteristics and Class Sizes in Maintained Schools in England: January 2008 (Provisional)' and can be found at:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000786/index.shtml
	
		
			  The percentage of children in primary and secondary schools who did not speak English as a first language in England 
			   Pupils of compulsory school age and above( 1,2,3) 
			   Primary s chools( 1)  Secondary s chools( 1,2) 
			 2004 11.0 8.8 
			 2005 11.6 9.0 
			 2006 12.5 9.5 
			 2007 13.5 10.5 
			 2008(4) 14.3 10.6 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Excludes dually registered pupils. (3) The number of pupils by their first language expressed as a percentage of the number of pupils of compulsory school age and above. (4) Includes CTCs and Academies.  Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10. There may be discrepancies between the sum of constituent items and totals as shown.  Source:  School Census

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what date Lord Laming's progress report on safeguarding will be published.

Beverley Hughes: We expect Lord Laming's progress report on safeguarding to be published on 12 March.

Children's Workforce Development Council: Finance

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the budget of the Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) was in each year since it was established; and how much has been allocated for CWDC's budget in each of the next three years.

Beverley Hughes: Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) was established in 2005. The resources received by CWDC in each financial year since establishment to date are (the vast majority being grants made by DCSF or DFES was):
	
		
			   Resources received( 1)  () 
			 2005-06 1,603,014 
			 2006-07 22,514,444 
			 2007-08 54,436,949 
			 (1 )Information taken from CWDC audited and published accounts. 
		
	
	CWDC became a non-departmental public body in April 2008. For the current financial year the total budget available is 82,454,000. The actual expenditure will be published in the annual accounts. A copy of these accounts will be placed in the House Library and will be available via CWDC's website at:
	www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
	The budget and remit for 2009-10 is currently being agreed with CWDC as part of the business planning cycle. Once agreed, a copy of the remit letter (including budget) will be available on their website at:
	www.cwdcouncil.org.uk
	A core grant allocation of 31,003,000 has been agreed as part of the comprehensive spending review agreements for 2010-11. The additional contributions for specific programme delivery have not yet been agreed.
	The Department operates on three year, Comprehensive Spending Review cycles which currently extend to March 2011 only. Figures from April 2011 onwards are not available at the present time.

Departmental Consultants

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much his Department and its associated public bodies paid to consultants in the last year for which data are available; to which organisations such payments were made; for what purposes; and how much the payment was in each case.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children Schools and Families spent 61.4 million on external consultancy in 2007-08. The Department does not hold the requested information for its associated bodies, as they are independent and are responsible for their own data.
	Like most Government Departments, the Department uses consultants to work on specific projects outside our business as usual, such as where the Department does not have the skills internally or where a different, external or specialist perspective on complex issues is needed. It would only be possible to list the amount and purpose of each payment at disproportionate cost.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the total cost was of providing the  (a) 10,  (b) 20,  (c) 30 and  (d) bonus payment of the education maintenance allowance for the last three years for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table shows EMA expenditure on the weekly payments split by income band and bonus payments for each academic year 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08:
	
		
			million 
			  Expenditure on EMA by band ()  2005/06  2006/07  2007/08 
			 30 282.2 345.2 363.0 
			 20 24.3 27.7 27.7 
			 10 11.3 12.2 12.2 
			 Expenditure on bonus payments 80.7 97 100.5 
		
	
	For the benefit of clarity the table excludes administration or marketing costs in relation to each of these elements.

Education Maintenance Allowance

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many people have yet to receive an education maintenance allowance payment to which they are entitled in  (a) England,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) who operate the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) for the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). Mark Haysom the LSC's Chief Executive, will write to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Library.

Every Child Matters

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions his Department had with representatives of EU institutions on its Every Child Matters programme in the two years before October 2004; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I am not aware of any discussions between the Department and representatives of EU institutions on the Every Child Matters Agenda prior to its launch in 2004.
	There is no EU competence in children's services and very limited competence in youth policy. Activity at European level is largely restricted to encouraging exchanges of young people and youth workers between member states. We do however work with member states and the EU institutions to exchange good practice and information on national policy development. Through these mechanisms we have promoted the Every Child Matters approach.

Free School Meals

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children receive free school meals in  (a) Vale of York constituency,  (b) North Yorkshire and  (c) England.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information about children eligible for free school meals is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Maintained nursery and primary schools, state-funded secondary schools: School meal arrangements: Position in January 2008Vale of York parliamentary constituency, North Yorkshire local authority, England 
			   Nursery and primary schools( 1,2)  State-funded secondary schools( 1,2,3) 
			   Number of pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free schools meals  Number of pupils known to be eligible for free schools meals  Percentage known to be eligible for free schools meals 
			 England 641,490 15.5 433,140 13.1 
			 Vale of York 310 4.2 360 6.0 
			 North Yorkshire 3,390 7.8 2,440 6.0 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes dually registered pupils. (3) Includes City Technology colleges and Academies. Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source:  School Census

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of pupils in  (a) independent and  (b) maintained schools received five or more GCSE grades A* to C including English, mathematics, science and a foreign language in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The requested information can be provided only for pupils at the end of their Key Stage 4 studies going back to 2005, data earlier than 2005 are on a different basis and therefore not comparable.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils at pupil referral units did not achieve an A*-G grade at GCSE in either English or mathematics in the most recent year for which records are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Of the 6,943 pupils reported to be at the end of key stage 4 who were registered solely in pupil referral units in 2008, 1,696 did not achieve a grade A*-G in GCSE mathematics, 1,903 did not achievea grade A*-G in English.
	The percentage of pupils who achieved five or more grades A* -C including English, mathematics, science and a foreign language is as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Maintained schools  Independent schools 
			 2008 22.7 36.4 
			 2007 22.1 47.4 
			 2006 23.2 60.4 
			 2005 25.3 66.8

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils eligible for free school meals did not get any GCSEs at grade  (a) C,  (b) D,  (c) E,  (d) F and  (e) G or above in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			  Pupils( 1)  eligible for FSM who did not get any GCSEs at the indicated grades in 2008 
			   Number 
			 C or above 31,647 
			 D or above 19,632 
			 E or above 11,771 
			 F or above 7,639 
			 G or above 5,747 
			 (1) Pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 in maintained schools.  Source: National Pupil Database.

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils eligible for free school meals took fewer than five GCSEs in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: 9,173 pupils eligible for free school meals were entered in fewer than five GCSEs(1) in 2008(2).
	(1) Pupils at the end of key stage 4, includes GCSEs and equivalent.
	(2) Figures are based on amended data.
	 Source
	National Pupil Database

GCSE: Disadvantaged

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of free school meals pupils achieved A* to C grades at GCSE in 2008.

Jim Knight: The number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 eligible for free school meals achieving at least one A* to C grade at GCSE or equivalent in 2008 was 53,300. This was 71.4 per cent. of all pupils eligible for free school meals.

GCSE: Mathematics

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils gained a C grade or above in GCSE mathematics in each year since 2003.

Jim Knight: The number of pupils achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics in each year since 2003 can be found through the following links. Prior to 2005, figures are available only for 15 year-old pupils. In 2005, figures are available for both 15 year-old pupils and pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. From 2006, figures are available only for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Care should be taken when constructing a time series, as figures for 15 year-old pupils are not directly comparable to figures with pupils at the end of Key Stage 4.
	 2003
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000442/index.shtml
	(Table 6: Figures based on 15 year old pupils).
	 2004:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000549/index.shtml
	(Table 9: Figures based on 15 year old pupils).
	 2005:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsqateway/DB/SFR/s000631/index.shtml
	(Table 10: Figures based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, Table 10a-Figures based on 15 year old pupils).
	 2006:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsqateway/DB/SFR/s000702/index.shtml
	(Table 10: Figures based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4).
	 2007:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768/index.shtml
	(Table 10: Figures based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4).
	 2008:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsqatewav/DB/SFR/s000826/index.shtml
	(Table 10: Figures based on pupils at the end of Key Stage 4).
	
		
			  Number of pupils achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics in England 
			   Number of 15 year old pupils achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics  Number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving an A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics 
			 2003 298,600 n/a 
			 2004 318,800 n/a 
			 2005 328,800 331,800 
			 2006 n/a 344,700 
			 2007 n/a 354,700 
			 2008 n/a 361,100

Health Education: Sex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what the evidential basis was for the statement made in the leaflet Talking to Your Teenager About Sex and Relationships that trying to convince teenagers of what's right and wrong may discourage them from being open; who his Department consulted before making this statement; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  on what date the leaflet Talking to Your Teenager About Sex and Relationships produced by his Department was published; if he will place a copy of the leaflet in the Library; who wrote the leaflet; who was consulted prior to it being  (a) written and  (b) published; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  how much was spent by his Department on  (a) researching and  (b) producing the leaflet Talking to Your Teenager About Sex and Relationships; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The leaflet for parents on talking to their teenage children about sex and relationships strongly encourages them to share their values with their children and that clearly includes their views about what's right and wrong. However, the leaflet also draws on research summarised in The Nature of Adolescence (John Coleman and Leo Hendry, 1999) which shows that the most effective way of communicating with teenagers is to encourage discussion rather than simply telling them what to think. Teenagers whose parents have an authoritative rather than authoritarian style are less likely to be involved in risky behaviour.
	The leaflet highlights the important role that parentsfathers and mothershave in: helping their daughters and sons resist pressure to have early sex; to understand their feelings and the feelings of others; and to take responsibility for preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) if and when they do choose to become sexually active.
	The leaflet was drafted by DCSF officials in conjunction with colleagues at Parentline Plus. The content was informed by research into parents' views and experiences of talking to their teenage children. There was no formal public consultation on the leaflet before it was published. The leaflet will be available in pharmacies from early March 2009. The total cost of design, print and production of the leaflet was 14,427. A copy of the leaflet will be placed in the House Libraries.

History: Education

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 181-3W, on history: education, in which local authority area each of the schools listed is located; and how many and what percentage of pupils in each school are eligible to receive free school meals.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information has been placed in the Libraries.

Local Safeguarding Children Boards

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what guidance his Department has issued on the publication of minutes and decisions taken by local safeguarding children boards that do not relate to a particular case or individual; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not prescribe how minutes and decisions taken by Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) which do not relate to particular cases or individuals should be published. The Government's statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006) states that,
	The LSCB should have a clear work programme, including measurable objectives, and a budget.
	It goes on to state,
	This will enable the LSCB's work to be scrutinised by the Local Authority, by other local partners and by other key stakeholders. The guidance recommends that such work plans or annual reports are endorsed by all the Board members and made publicly available.

Ofsted: Empty Property

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the estimated cost in empty property business rates for the vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database owned by safeguarding children boards Ofsted is in 2008-09.

Jim Knight: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated 26 February 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response.
	Ofsted had three vacant properties recorded on the e-PIMS database in 2008-09, all of which are leasehold. Table A shows the non-domestic rates payments for these properties.
	
		
			  Table A: Non-domestic rates payments on Ofsted properties recorded on the e-PIMs database in 2008-09 
			  Property  Rates () 
			 Dukes Court, Woking 84,546.00 
			 Louisa House, Birmingham 80,700.00 
			 Apex Court, Bristol 30,954.00 
		
	
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Rt Hon Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners and will be placed in the library of both Houses.

Pupils: Diabetes

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues in the Department of Health on the provision of support in schools for students diagnosed with  (a) diabetes,  (b) asthma and  (c) other long-term conditions.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Health have been jointly developing the Government's long-term strategy to support children's health. The Child Health Strategy will build on work already being delivered through the Every Child Matters and National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services.

Schools: Admissions

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which local authorities are reducing the number of surplus places as part of  (a) the Primary Capital Programme and  (b) Building Schools for the Future programme.

Jim Knight: We do not collect programme specific data about the reduction of surplus places linked directly to capital investment through either Building Schools for the Future or the Primary Capital Programme. We have nevertheless made clear in relation to both programmes that all local authorities should look for opportunities to remove excessive numbers of surplus places; particularly where these are linked to poor standards. Maintaining surplus places can represent a poor use of resourcesresources that can be used more effectively to support schools in raising standards and delivering better outcomes for children. That said, it is accepted that in order to preserve access for young children, there may be more empty places in schools in rural areas than in urban areas.

Schools: Collective Worship

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment he has made of levels of compliance by schools with guidance on provisions for assemblies and daily acts of collective worship under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: All community, foundation or voluntary schools must offer a daily act of collective worship which is broadly of a Christian nature. Parents have the right to withdraw their children from collective worship and pupils in the sixth form have the right to withdraw themselves from collective worship without parental consent.
	Ofsted has a duty to inspect schools on their compliance with the legal requirement to provide a daily act of worship. Schools and governing bodies can be deemed unsatisfactory for failing to comply with the statutory requirements. The findings of inspection, set alongside the school's self-evaluation, provide a basis for planning for improvement.
	The Department does not itself make an assessment of the level of compliance with the provisions of the Standards and Framework Act 1998 for a daily act of collective worship.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects his Department to meet its target of raising the level of funding per state school pupil to the level of funding per pupil in the private sector; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The Government announced in the Budget in 2006 that they would aim, over time and adjusting for inflation, to increase funding per pupil towards private sector day school levels at that time. Average private sector per pupil funding was estimated at 8,000 compared to the total revenue and capital funding per pupil in the maintained sector of 4,750 in that year.
	We are investing record amounts of funding for schools. From 1997 total per pupil funding has more than doubled from under 2,500 in 1997-98 to 5,550 in 2007-08. By 2010-11, the total per pupil funding for the state sector will rise to 6,550. This means that between 2005-06 and 2010-11, we will have raised maintained sector funding by 1,000 per pupil in real terms and will have closed the gap with the private sector 2005-06 figure by 30 per cent.
	Progress over future spending reviews will depend upon the Government's fiscal position, demographic change and progress by schools in continuing to deliver improvements in results and wider support for parents and pupils.
	 Note:
	All figures rounded to nearest 50.

Schools: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  whether his Department's plans to require companies working on school capital programmes to submit a formal training programme will apply to  (a) Building Schools for the Future projects which have already been approved and  (b) the Primary Capital Programme;
	(2)  who will determine whether companies working on school capital programmes have submitted a suitable formal training programme;
	(3)  whether his Department's plans to require a formal training programme from companies working on school capital projects apply to companies outside the construction sector.

Jim Knight: Many Building Schools for the Future (BSF) bidders already submit proposals for provision of apprenticeships and other training programmes in such areas as construction, technical building services, facilities management and ICT etc., but to date there has been no formal requirement for local authorities to include such proposals in their service specifications. From June 2009 these requirements will become formalised for new projects only and be assessed by Partnerships for Schools and the local authority through the procurement process.
	The pre-Budget report in November announced that Government Departments and their agencies committed that whenever they let a new construction contract they will consider making it a requirement that successful contractors have apprentices as a proportion of the project work force. This commitment will apply to the strategic, centrally-managed BSF programme. In relation to devolved capital programmes and Primary Capital Programme projects not delivered through BSF, we want to see local authorities taking forward the skills procurement agenda using their contract management and planning powers in construction and other service areas including facilities management and ICT. In addition to the letting of new contracts, local authorities can also work with existing contractors and encourage them to provide training and apprenticeships training opportunities for their work force. To support the implementation of the skills procurement agenda, DIUS officials are working with OGC to develop and disseminate guidance on how skills requirements can be included in the procurement processes.

Schools: Restraint Techniques

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will place in the Library a copy of each piece of guidance issued by his Department made available to all schools on the use of physical restraint in the last 12 months.

Jim Knight: The Department issued revised guidance for schools, entitled The Use of Force to Control or Restrain Pupils, in November 2007. This guidance advises school staff that force should only be used when there is no viable alternative and when the risks associated with using force are outweighed by the risks associated with not using force.
	The guidance is supplemented by two specialist guidance documents which provide additional information for staff working with pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, namely: (i) Guidance on the Use of Restrictive Physical Interventions for Staff Working with Children and Adults who display Extreme Behaviour in Association with Learning Disability and/or Autistic Spectrum Disorders (Circ LEA/0242/2002); and (ii) Guidance on the Use of Restrictive Physical Interventions for Pupils with Severe Behavioural Difficulties (Circ LEA/0264/2003).
	A copy of each document has been placed in the Library of the House.

Schools: Standards

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which maintained secondary schools have been included in  (a) education action zones,  (b) Excellence in Cities,  (c) Fresh Start,  (d) the London Challenge and  (e) the National Challenge since 1997.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not have a readily available list of maintained secondary schools that were included in Education Action Zones and the various Excellence in Cities programmes between 1999 and 2006. There would be a disproportionate cost involved in creating lists of these schools.
	A large proportion of the maintained secondary schools in London have benefited from the range of support provided by London Challenge since the programme began in 2003. Schools that have received the most focused support are, or have been, part of the 'Keys to Success' programme, which offers bespoke support tailored to the needs of individual schools. A list providing details of all schools that have been supported by the Keys to Success programme since it began will be placed in the Library of both Houses. It includes those schools that have since closed or become academies.
	In addition, we have placed in the Libraries lists of the maintained secondary schools that have closed and reopened under the DCSF Fresh Start programme and of those in the National Challenge, where fewer than 30 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4 achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE (or equivalent) in 2007 and 2008.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2009 to Question 256442, which school had more than 400 pupils.

Jim Knight: The school which had more than 400 pupils was Selly Oak Special School (URN 103613) in Birmingham.

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what percentage of pupils with statemented special educational needs of behavioural, emotional or social difficulties attended mainstream schools in each local authority in the last 12 months for which records are available.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Information on the number and percentage of statemented pupils by type of special educational need, for both primary and state funded secondary schools for January 2008, has been placed in the Library.

Special Educational Needs: Private Sector

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2009,  Official Report, columns 470-74W, on special educational needs: private sector, in which local authority area each of the schools listed is located.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The 228 independent schools catering wholly or mainly for pupils with special educational needs which opened between 1 September 2005 and 31 August 2008 are listed alphabetically below in local authority order.
	The Education Act 2002 amended the definition of an independent school to include institutions providing full time education for one or more pupils with a statement of special educational needs or a looked after child. This resulted in a number of children's homes which provide education on the premises registering as independent schools.
	
		
			   Name 
			 Barking and Dagenham Hopewell School 
			 Barnet Southover Partnership School 
			 Barnsley Dove Adolescent Services 
			 Bedfordshire Trent Lodge(1) 
			 Birmingham Birmingham Rathbone Society 
			 Birmingham Merecroft School 
			 Birmingham Swan Lodge 
			 Birmingham Trade Based Training 
			 Blackburn with Darwen Darwen School 
			 Blackpool Pennsylvania House 
			 Bolton Booth Greencorns Independent School 
			 Bolton Newfields School 
			 Bradford Meadowcroft School 
			 Bradford The Elms 
			 Bradford The Old Gables(1) 
			 Brighton and Hove Springboard Education Junior 
			 Bristol City of Encompass Education 
			 Bristol City of Greenfields 
			 Bromley The Tutorial Foundation 
			 Buckinghamshire Education and Youth Services Ltd. (4) 
			 Bury Pathfinders School 
			 Bury Primrose Cottage 
			 Calderdale Elland House School 
			 Cambridgeshire Castle Lodge School 
			 Cambridgeshire March House 
			 Cambridgeshire On Track Training Centre 
			 Cambridgeshire Shelldene House School 
			 Cambridgeshire Waypoint House(1) 
			 Camden Gloucester House the Tavistock Childrens Day Unit 
			 Cheshire Brook House Farm 
			 Cheshire Dane House 
			 Cheshire Oracle 
			 Cornwall T Plus Centre (Taliesin Education) 
			 Coventry Rowan House 
			 Croydon Arvon House(1) 
			 Croydon Hillcrest London School 
			 Croydon Hillcrest Norwood(1) 
			 Croydon St. Annes Independent PRU 
			 Croydon Thornton Heath College 
			 Cumbria Education and Youth Services Ltd., Carlisle 
			 Cumbria Kirby Moor School 
			 Darlington Pear Tree School 
			 Derbyshire Arnfield Independent School 
			 Derbyshire Boyd House(1) 
			 Derbyshire Glendale House 
			 Derbyshire The Linnet Independent Learning Centre 
			 Derbyshire The Meadows 
			 Devon Moorlands School 
			 Devon On Track Training Centre 
			 Doncaster York House 
			 Durham The Daltons(1) 
			 Ealing Insights Education Centre 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire Sycamore House 
			 East Sussex Jemini Response 
			 East Sussex The Firs(1) 
			 Essex Essex Fresh Start 
			 Essex Oasis School 
			 Gloucestershire Althea Park Education Unit 
			 Gloucestershire The Cornerstone 
			 Gloucestershire Three Castles College 
			 Halton 110 Peel House Lane Green Corns 
			 Halton 47 Lowerhouse LaneGreen Corns 
			 Halton 62 PeelhouseGreen Corns 
			 Halton Fair Holme 
			 Halton Greenway Green Corns 
			 Halton Halton House School 
			 Halton Halton View Green Corns 
			 Halton Liverpool Green Corns 
			 Halton Lunts HeathGreencorns 
			 Halton Middleton Lodge 
			 Halton Saxon Road Green Corns(1) 
			 Halton South Parade Green Corns(1) 
			 Hampshire HillcrestHayling Island 
			 Hampshire Tadley Horizon 
			 Hartlepool Hartlepool School Education and Vocational Training Centre 
			 Hertfordshire Education and Youth Services (Herts) 
			 Hertfordshire Worldshapers Academy 
			 Kensington and Chelsea Snowflake School 
			 Kent Alexandra House(1) 
			 Kent Arundel House 
			 Kent Farm Cottage 
			 Kent Ferndearle 
			 Kent Haven House At Meadowcroft 
			 Kent Hobbit House 
			 Kent Hope View School 
			 Kent Pumping Station School 
			 Kent Seameadows 
			 Kent Shalom Place 
			 Kent St. Nicholas Lodge (Broadstairs) 
			 Kent The Annex School House 
			 Kent The Ashbrook Centre 
			 Kent The Boulters Learning and Skills Centre 
			 Kent The Symbol Academy 
			 Kent The Willows 
			 Kent Toadstool Cottage(1) 
			 Kent Victoria House 
			 Kent Wilford Court 
			 Kirklees Rosedale Co Central Office 
			 Lancashire Broadclough Lodge 
			 Lancashire Cumberland School 
			 Lancashire Granville Greencorns(1) 
			 Lancashire Keyes Barn 
			 Lancashire Oliver House School 
			 Lancashire Park View School 
			 Lancashire Regent SchoolGreen Corns 
			 Lancashire Roselyn House School 
			 Lancashire Seaview Learning Centre 
			 Lancashire Spring Vale School 
			 Lancashire The Birches 
			 Lancashire The Evaglades 
			 Lancashire Trax Academy 
			 Lancashire Waidshouse Greencorns Independent School(1) 
			 Leicester Gryphon School 
			 Leicestershire Claybrook Cottage School 
			 Leicestershire Hazel House 
			 Leicestershire Sketchley Horizon 
			 Leicestershire The Cedars 
			 Leicestershire Trinity College 
			 Lincolnshire Midsummer House School 
			 Lincolnshire Yail (Gainsborough) 
			 Medway Blue Skies School 
			 Newham Laurel Leaf School 
			 Norfolk Lovells Hall 
			 Norfolk Stubbs House Education Unit 
			 Norfolk The Close(1) 
			 North Lincolnshire Barton School 
			 North Lincolnshire Demeter House 
			 North Yorkshire Learning To Listen 
			 Northumberland Howard House 
			 Nottinghamshire Blue Mountain Education 
			 Nottinghamshire Hill Farm College 
			 Nottinghamshire Hope House School 
			 Nottinghamshire Middlehey 
			 Nottinghamshire Newbridge House(1) 
			 Nottinghamshire Nookin Cottage(1) 
			 Nottinghamshire The Old Farmhouse 
			 Nottinghamshire Villa Real Farmhouse 
			 Oldham The Croft 
			 Oxfordshire Chilworth House School 
			 Peterborough Windsor House 
			 Rochdale Alder Meadow Green Corns Independent School 
			 Rochdale ArgyleGreen Corns(1) 
			 Rochdale Bankfield 
			 Rochdale Banks Croft School 
			 Rochdale BernardGreen Corns(1) 
			 Rochdale CronkeyshawGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Elmsfield 
			 Rochdale FoxGreen Corns(1) 
			 Rochdale Further HeightsGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale GloucesterGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Great Howarth College(1) 
			 Rochdale Moorgate 
			 Rochdale Norden Way 
			 Rochdale Park HillGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Pathfinders School 
			 Rochdale Peppercorn(1) 
			 Rochdale PilsworthGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Pleasant Street 
			 Rochdale Queens ParkGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Rooley MoorGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Roughbank Farm 
			 Rochdale Shellfield Green Corns 
			 Rochdale Summit Greencoms 
			 Rochdale ThamesGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale The Barn Greencoms 
			 Rochdale WestonGreen Corns 
			 Rochdale Whitebeam SchoolGreen Corns(1) 
			 Rutland The Shires At Stretton 
			 Rutland Wilds Lodge School 
			 Salford Aim Habonim 
			 Sandwell Bloomfield College 
			 Shropshire Condover Horizon School(1) 
			 Shropshire David Banks School(1) 
			 Shropshire Farleigh College 
			 Shropshire Flying High 
			 Shropshire Hillgate Farm 
			 Shropshire Hollyoaks(1) 
			 Shropshire Hurst Farm 
			 Shropshire New Options (Higford) School 
			 Shropshire The Evolution Centre 
			 Shropshire The Stubbs 
			 Shropshire Ty Newydd 
			 Shropshire Whitty Tree House 
			 Solihull The Island Project School 
			 Somerset Aethelstan College 
			 Somerset Continuum School Somerset 
			 Somerset Lillesdon School 
			 Somerset Staddons School 
			 Somerset Willows 
			 Southampton Cornerstone School 
			 Southampton The Serendipity Centre 
			 Southend-on-Sea Trinity Lodge 
			 Staffordshire Corporation Farmhouse(1) 
			 Staffordshire Highfields 
			 Staffordshire Hillcrest Kings Bromley 
			 Staffordshire Horizon School 
			 Stockport Ivy Cottage Residential School(1) 
			 Suffolk Acorn Cottage 
			 Suffolk Broadlands Hall 
			 Suffolk Gable End 
			 Surrey Kisimul School 
			 Surrey Papillon House 
			 Surrey Unsted Park School 
			 Tameside Lime Meadows 
			 Telford and Wrekin Eastgate House 
			 Telford and Wrekin Jigsaw School 
			 Wakefield Dove Adolescent Services(1) 
			 Wakefield Stone House School 
			 Warrington Fitzwalter Greencorns 
			 Warrington Fletcher Street Greencorns 
			 Warrington High Trees 
			 Warrington Hunt Close Greencorns(1) 
			 Warrington Kingsway Greencorns 
			 Warrington Park View 
			 Warrington The Gables 
			 Warrington Warrington School 
			 Warrington Willoughby School 
			 Warwickshire Valley House 
			 West Sussex Ark House 
			 West Sussex My Choice SchoolKestral House 
			 West Sussex My Choice SchoolOcean Pearl 
			 West Sussex My Choice SchoolShopham Bridge Farmhouse(1) 
			 West Sussex Provident House School 
			 West Sussex The Amicus School 
			 West Sussex The Education Centre(1) 
			 Westminster The Westside Independent School 
			 Wiltshire Sherant Education 
			 Wiltshire The Farringdon Centre 
			 (1) These schools are no longer open.

Specialised Diplomas

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what maximum distance is stipulated between schools in each of the diploma consortia.

Jim Knight: The distance between schools within a consortium is not stipulated centrally; a range of factors need to be taken in to consideration including transport and access and arrangements are determined locally. Through the Diploma Gateway process consortia are required to explain how the young people in their area will access the different institutions within the consortium.

Standards Fund

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what initiatives have received funding through the Standards Fund; how much his Department has allocated to the fund in each year since the fund was established; how much has been allocated to the fund for  (a) 2009-10 and  (b) 2010-11; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Tables showing the grants and the amounts allocated to local authorities under the Standards Fund programme since it began in 1998-99, and the grants allocated to date for 2009-10 and 2010-11, will be placed in the Library.

Sure Start Programme

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to make Sure Start centres accessible at evenings and weekends.

Beverley Hughes: Opening hours are a matter for local decision, taking account of the range of needs and resources to meet these. From April 2009 this Government are allocating over 1 billion a year to local authorities to support services in Sure Start Children's Centres. And Sure Start Children's Centres have changed the way many parents access essential services during their children's early years by delivering them closer to where families live and in ways that suit families needs. Centres offering integrated early learning and day care facilities as part of their services are required to be open 10 hours a day, five days a week and 48 weeks a year. They also have flexibility to open at other times. Other centres have more flexible opening hours but all centres will aim to provide services at times that suit the communities' needs  which can mean opening in the evenings and at weekends. Some centres have, for example, found that the best time to offer activities for fathers and their children is on Saturday morning. Guidance on opening times can be found in Chapter 3 of 'Sure Start Children's Centres Planning and Performance Management Guidance' (2006).

Teachers: Training

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what factors have been identified by his Department as contributing to the decline in the number of applications for post-graduate certificate of education courses in modern languages between 2000 and 2008; and what steps his Department is taking in response to this decline.

Jim Knight: The Department has not identified why there has been a decline in the number of applications for postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE) in modern languages between 2000 and 2008.
	Modern languages remains a priority subject within initial teacher training and eligible trainees on PGCE courses leading to qualified teacher status can currently receive the maximum 9,000 training bursary and a 2,500 golden hello in the second year of teaching. The subject also has a proportionately higher profile in the Training and Development Agency for Schools advertising and marketing activities. This includes specialised direct marketing materials being sent to all those who register an interest in teaching the subject. The latest published figures show that applications for postgraduate modern language courses at 3 February 2009 are up 11.7 per cent. on the same time last year.